Adventures Through Time
by Vixin2
Summary: Behold my attempt to do a novelization of Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Might have some differences. The major one being a different person being the Hero of Time instead of Link. I.E, a female oc I created. Please give it a chance. Reviews welcomed. Fem!Link Rated T just in case. I own nothing but my own character.
1. The Beginning

In the land of Hyrule, the land created by the old Gods, there was a forest inhabited by children who would never age or die. The Kokiri. However they could never leave their home as to do so was believed to lead to death, as was told by the Great Deku Tree. The Deku Tree watched over the Kokiri as they lived their lives in the forest. All of the Kokiri had fairies. Companions and guardians. There was one exception though.

"Hello, Joan! Wake up!"

A young girl without a fairy...

"The Great Deku Tree wants to talk to you! Joan, get up!"

A girl who would become the hero of-

"Hey! C'mon!", Navi demanded as the young girl in bed just simply turned her head to the side, giving a small snore. Refusing to leave the sanctuary of her dreams. "Can Hyrule's destiny really depend on such a lazy girl?", questioned fairy. Fluttering quickly over the girl who gave a yawn. She was a small girl like the rest of the Kokiri, wearing a green, short sleeved tunic. The colour being the the custom colour in the woods. She had short blonde hair that was pulled into a stubby ponytail by a single green ribbon and her eyes were brown.

"Wha- Who's talkin'?" Joan was still feeling sleepy (having always been a bit lazy when it came to sleep), but at the sight of a light blue glow with fluttering white wings immediately woke her up as she quickly sat up.

"You finally woke up!", Navi said happily, smiling to herself as Joan looked a tiny bit insulted.

"I can't help it if I'm not a morning person.", Joan mumbled to herself, but stayed focused on the fairy. Whether the fairy had heard her or not was not made clear as she simply went on.

"I'm Navi the fairy! The Great Deku Tree asked me to be your partner from now on!"

"Really? No fooling?" Joan was excited now. No longer would Mido the jerk pick on her for not having a fairy! Oh how she looked forward to seeing his reaction. She really hoped he would be upset so-

"Yes, and the Great Deku Tree has summoned you! So let's get going... right now!", Navi added.

"Wh-why does he want to see me? Did I do something?" Joan asked, feeling slightly alarmed as she thought back over the last week. As far as she could remember she hadn't done anything wrong. Unless you count discretely tripping Mido into the river. But in her defense Mido tripped Joan in the day before!

"No. But it's important that we go. Now!" Noticing the extra emphasis Navi was now using, Joan nodded as she got out of bed.

"Sure. Let's go."

Joan was met with a warm, gentle breeze as she stepped out of her doorway in the tree house she lived in. She would have paused for at least a moment to appreciate her view of the small waterfall across the other side, but instead noticed her best friend Saria, a blue eyed girl with vibrant green hair held back with a darker green headband, running up to her house with her fairy following behind.

"Yahoo!", she called up to Joan as she waved. "Hi, Joan!"

"Hey, Saria! I'll be right down!", Joan called back before she began to descend her ladder and then jumped down halfway. Coming up to Saria, said girl noticed a fluttering glow following Joan.

"Wow! A fairy! Finally, a fairy came to you, Joan!"

"Yeah, it's pretty good". 'Maybe Mildew the Jerk will finally stop annoying me about having no fairy', Joan added in her mind as Saria smiled.

"That's great news! I'm so happy for you! Now you're a true Kokiri, Joan!"

"Thanks Saria." Joan said, returning Saria's smile. "But as much as I'd like to talk, Navi here says the Great Deku Tree wants to talk to me." Saria looked a little surprised.

"Is that right? The Great Deku Tree has summoned you?" Joan replied with a yes. "It's quite an honour to talk to the Great Deku Tree!"

"I know, but I'm kinda nervous about what he wants to talk to me about."

"Don't worry, I'm sure you'll be fine," Saria assured. "I'll wait for you here. Get going! Go see the Great Deku Tree!"

"Alright. Thanks." Joan nodded. "How about we walk through the woods when I get back?"

"Sounds good, but I think you're trying to stall now".

"Alright I'm going, I'm going." Joan chuckled along with Saria before walking away in the direction of the Great Deku Tree. So far this morning seemed perfect for Joan. The weather was good, she had a fairy and there was nothing at all to spoil i-

"Hey, you! 'Ms. No-Fairy'!"

And then she ran into the amber-haired Mido guarding the way to the Great Deku Tree.

"Hello, Mido." Joan said bluntly, fighting off the smirk that was bound to show once the boy noticed Navi.

"What's you're business with the Great Deku Tree?" he demanded with a small glare. "Without a fairy-"

"What about Navi? Doesn't she count?" Joan asked innocently. Smiling as she gestured to her fairy with her hand. The expression on Mido's face wasn't exactly what she had in mind. But it was close enough and better then nothing.

"What?! You got a fairy?!"

"And according to her, the Great Deku Tree wishes to speak to me." Joan added, her smile widening a little as Navi fluttered up and down as a sort of nod. Now Mido's face was at the expression of shock she was looking for.

"Say what? The Great Deku Tree actually summoned you?"

"Yes he did," Joan nodded. "So if you'll just move-"

"Whaaaaaat?! Why would he summon you and not the great Mido?"

"Don't you mean, 'Mildew the Great Jerk'?" Joan questioned. She could faintly hear Navi giggling as Mido narrowed his eyes.

"Not funny!"

"Funnier then your attempts at impressing Saria. As if you'd have a chance with her," Joan scoffed. "If me or her were boys, I'd have a better chance then you."

"Sure you would." scoffed Mido. "You aren't even equiped anyway. How are you suppose to help the Great Deku Tree without both a sword and shield ready?"

"As if you're in a hurry-"

"Let's just go get those things, Joan!" Joan felt Navi pull at her ponytail and stopped. While she didn't want to say it out loud, she knew that Mido was right.

"Fine, we'll go get those things. But you better watch your tongue with me when I get back, bud," Joan told Mido. "'Cause when I get back, I'll have a sword and won't put up with your lousy insults!"

"Like I'll ever be scared of you." Navi didn't give Joan a chance to retort to Mido's response as she tugged on the stubby ponytail harder so Joan just turned to get her equipment. But not before sticking her tongue out at Mido in a childish manner.

"I guessing you two aren't found of each other?", Navi guessed as she and Joan left Mido alone.

"Never have been, never will be," Joan deadpanned. "He's just jealous 'cause I'm friends with Saria and he likes her."

"Well you were kinda acting childish."

"I heard you laughing when I called him mildew," Joan pointed out with a smile.

"Let's just find a sword and shield. Know where we can find them?"

"The store definitely has a shield. A bit pricey but I've some rupees to pay for it," Joan answered and then furrowed her eyebrows as she thought of where to find a sword. "And I think I know just where to go to find a sword."

It wasn't too long until Joan was running through the forest training center, with a wide eyed look of terror as a bolder was on her heels.

"Run faster!", Navi yelled, flying close by to Joan.

"What does it look like I'm doing?!" Shortly after that, she jumped behind the next corner she saw and the bolder went by. Joan then gave a sigh of relief. "That. Was a close one." She looked back up to see the treasure chest she was looking for and grinned as she jumped back up. "Now to get my sword!"

Joan ran to the chest, excitement making her heart pump as she unlocked and opened the chest and leaned in to collect the sword. It was the perfect size for her to wield, and had a brown handle with a single red gem on either side. She held it up high with pride.

"With this, I shall lead on to victory!", Joan laughed.

"That's great, but you still have to get a shield." Navi pointed out and Joan couldn't help but pout.

"Fine. Be a killjoy." She said as attached the scabbard of the sword to the back of her belt.

The trip to the store was rather quick and having enough rupees Joan was able to purchess a deku shield and then quickly made her way back towards Mido.

"I'm back, Mido".

"Eh, what's that?" Mido looked a bit surprised for a brief moment it was replaced with his infamous glare.

"I said I'm back." Joan repeated, this time more slowly in her attempt to mock Mido. "And I have my equipment, so you can let us true."

"Oh, you have a deku shield?" Mido questioned, perhaps hoping to catch Joan out.

"On my back," Joan replied, turning around and pointing her thumbs to the shield currently covering her back. "Along with the Kokiri Sword." She added, pulling the sword out of it's scabbard just enough for Mido to see it. She turned back to face Mido, with a look of confidence.

"Good Grief!" Mido exclaimed before folding his arms to attempt to look calm, but looked more childish then anything. "Well, even with all that stuff, a wimp is still a wimp, huh?"

"Shame to know they wouldn't change anything about you then." Joan retorted, and Mido scowled.

"I, the great Mido, will never accept you as one of us!"

"No, you're Mildew the Great Jerk." Joan said with a smile.

"How did you get to be the favourite of Saria and the Great Deku Tree? Huh?!", Mido questioned, become more annoyed by the second.

"... I'm more likable then you?" Joan suggested. Mido however decided to end the conversation and walked away. Joan walked on ahead to see the Great Deku Tree, her spirits lifted as she felt some accomplishment in believing she won against Mido today.

But then the nervous feeling she had admitted to Saria came back as she saw the Great Deku Tree. He was perhaps the biggest tree in the forest, with portions of bark sticking out and shapped into the face of an elderly man with facial hair. It was this aspect and the way his great voice echoed out that gave him a sort of grandfatherly air about him. Not being one of the taller Kokiri's, Joan felt extremely tiny compared to him.

"Great Deku Tree... I'm back!" Navi announced, flying a little ahead of Joan towards the great tree. Moments later, he spoke out.

"Oh... Navi... Thou hast returned... Joan... Welcome..."

"H-Hello. Sir." Joan said, trying not to sound too nervous. She noticed what she thought might have been fireflies flying around the mighty tree. Or perhaps they were younger fairies.

"Listen carefully to what I, the Deku Tree, am about to tell thee... Thy slumber these past moons have been restless and full of nightmares... As the servants of evil gain strength, a vile climate pervades the land and causes nightmare to those sensitive to it... Verily, thou hast felt it... Joan...The time has come to test thy courage..."

"What do you want me to do?" Joan asked, feeling a bit more relaxed at this point though she did feel a few pricks of tension.

"I have been cursed..." Those words made Joan feel as though her heart forgot how to beat but she stayed silent to let the Great Deku Tree speak. "I need thy to break the curse with thy wisdom and courage."

"Are you sure you wish me to do this?" Joan asked. She was willing to do it, but with a matter of life or death here it did make her confidence shake a little.

"I have complete confidence in you. Dost thou have courage enough to undertake this task?"

Joan looked down briefly to think this over. But seeing as how the Great Deku Tree had asked for her to do it, it had to have meant something. So she looked back up and nodded.

"If you really think I can do it, I will!" As soon as those words were spoken, the Great Deku Tree lowered his mouth.

"Then enter, brave Joan, and thou too, Navi... Navi the fairy... Though must aid Joan... And Joan... Listen to the advice of Navi."

"I will. I won't let you down!" Joan promised before looking to her companion. "You ready Navi?"

"Yes. I'll be right with you. All the way."

"... then let's begin." Joan said, making her way towards the Deku Tree's mouth. To begin the first of her many adventures.

* * *

**So I decided to give this a shot and see how it goes. Hopefully well or at the very least not something terrible.**


	2. Inside the Great Tree

In all honesty, Joan was not too sure what exactly to expect as she stepped inside the Great Deku Tree. Since she and Navi were on the ground level the grass was of no surprise. Joan did however felt as if she was inside a great, big wooden tower with the platforms covered in light moss that reached up above and the veins that looked like they would be able to support her enough to climb up.

"Here we are. Let's find the source of the problem." Joan said as she walked towards the center of the room where there was a hole covered in a thick looking cobweb.

"Look out!" Joan turned to look in the direction Navi called from and just barely jumped back as the blue, jaw-like petals of a deku baba snapped shut around the area she just was. Quickly reaction, Joan drew her sword and ran towards the hungry plant and slashed at it's bud, stunning it briefly which gave Joan enough time to slash the top of it's head off.

"Thanks, Navi. So, is this all we have to do? Some de-weeding?" asked Joan as she kicked the flower bud away.

"No, it's not them that's killing the Great Deku Tree. If anywhere, the source of the problem would be in the basement where the roots are," Navi explained. "But the cobweb in the center of the room is blocking the way. You wouldn't be heavy enough to break it by simply standing on it. But if you jumped on it from a certain height that should do the trick."

"Alright, sounds like a plan then," Joan nodded as she looked to her left, narrowing her eyes as she saw another deku baba, and killed it off just as easily as the first. She then climbed up the veins to the first level and looked at another set of veins, noticing small skulltula climbing on them as if this was their home. As their name implied, they had a armour cover their top half that was in the shape of a white skull.

"I think you should go through the door over there first," Navi said as she led Joan's eyes to a door that would require Joan having to jump from the platform she was already on to get to it. "There might be something in there you can use on the skulltula."

"If you say so." Joan gave it a running start, and was able to jump on the other platform without falling. Going through the door, she saw in the center of the room a deku scrub. A wooden creature covered in leaves that often hid when danger was very close. It had noticed her too as it immediately began spitting deku knuts in Joan's direction. Knowing it would only hide if she tried to get closer, Joan took out her wooden shield and held it out to reflect one knut to hit the scrub. Frightened to say the least, the creature jumped up and began panicking. Joan didn't give it a second glance and quickly walked by it into the room behind it. Across the room there was an old chest, with signs of age on it.

The platform to get across the room didn't look too steady, but Joan took the chance and jump onto it and leaped to the other side before the platform could collapsed. But still focused on the chest, Joan quickly ran to it and opened it up to reveal a single slingshot and several yellow deku sees.

"Not bad items. They'll help us get that ladder down," said Navi as she directed Joan's attention to the ladder leading back to the door they came in from. The only problem was that it was too high up. "Are you good at aiming?"

"Not exactly the best out of the Kokiri," Joan admitted as she loaded the slingshot and took aim. "But I'm not bad." She released the seed at it hit the ladder in just the right spot to make it come down.

"Great! Now you just have to use that on the skulltula and then climb up to the next platforms! That should be enough height for you to jump from and get into the basement!"

"Then we'll save the Great Deku Tree and be the heroes!" cheered Joan as she quickly left the room. Her aim on the skulltula was about as it had been on the ladder so Joan was able to take them out before climbing up the vines they had been on. She had to take out another with her sword to get in the perfect position to jump. Taking a deep breath, Joan jumped from the ledge and went down towards the cobweb covered hole. Her body pushed down on the cobweb like she was trying to use it as a trampoline but the force weakened the web strands enough to break away, and let Joan fall down into the water below.

"Okay. I'm fine," Joan said as Navi soon followed, after spitting water out of her water. Standing up, she brushed herself off before continuing on her journey through the basement. It was strange to Joan in a way. With how bright and colourful everything was on the outside it was hard to imagine anything like this sort of place below the Great Deku Tree.

"Hey, Navi? I've a question for you?" Joan looked up above to make sure there were no skulltulas ready to drop down at any second.

"What is it?"

"Well, do you know what the outside is like?" Navi was a bit surprised by this question.

"Outside? As in, outside the forest?"

"Yeah," Joan mumured. "I mean, I've lived here my whole life and I've never stepped outside. I'm kinda curious what it's like."

"Well, I haven't been outside much either," Navi admitted. "But I've seen some of it when I've flown above the trees. I know that there's definitely this big field when you leave the forest."

"A field? Like, just grass?" Joan tried to imagine an area with just grass. Maybe just one or two trees and shrubs. It was not that hard to imagine in all if Joan was to be honest.

"Yes. Sometimes some of the animals and insects in the woods like to go out there." Navi explained.

"Must be something worthwhile out there. Huh?"

"I've never really thought of it. But I guess so."

There were a few more skulltula, and even some deku scrubs and deku babas. But in the end they made it to the end. The door closed shut behind them. Sealing them with no way out inside a grey stoned room with great big pillars. Joan was feeling a bit nervous. Wondering what enemy may actually be hiding here, and fearing what would happen if she were to fail. Then she heard it.

A sort of scuttling noise. Coming from the ceiling from the sounds of it. Looking up, Joan saw the grotesque creature. In the dim lighting, Joan could make out that it was a reddish and spider-like with claws. It had only one eye that was yellow but slowly became orange as it went further away from the iris which was green. The pupil looked like a red dividing symbol. The eye moved side to side, observing the room and once it looked contact on Joan, the eye moved with the pupil facing the inside of the parasites head briefly before it let go of the ceiling and dropped to the floor.

"What the... What the heck is that?!" Joan was terrified. It seemed like something dragged out of nightmares. But she couldn't just simply think because the gave a screech and raised it claws before slamming them to the ground. Just missing Joan who had jumped out of the way.

"Aim for it's eye! I think that's the weak point!" Hearing Navi's cry, Joan quickly took out the slingshot and lined her aim before releasing the seed. While not exactly a bullseye, it was enough to stun the creature temporally which allowed Joan to take her sword and get a few hits on the dreaded thing before it used one of it's claws to shove her away with enough force to hit her against a column.

"Well... It must definitely hurt it there if it got this mad." Joan grumbled as she eased herself up straight. Holding in a tiny hiss from the slight pain in her back caused by the impact. During this though, the parasite had climbed back onto the ceiling and its eye was beginning to turn red. Joan however aimed another seed from her slingshot towards its eye which caused it to fall from the ceiling. Figuring it would be stunned longer this time, Joan used all of her strength in swinging her sword and striking. The possible consequences encouraging her to keep going before delivering blow by stabbing the sword right through it's eye. Covering the sword in foul smelling, green goo.

The parasite gave a final cry of agony, raising its claws high above its head before it collapsed to the ground. Blue flames then began to engulf it as it slowly broke apart, leaving nothing but ashes as remains.

Joan gave a sigh of relief as she collapsed down into a sitting position. She then couldn't help but chuckle to herself which confused Navi.

"What's so funny?"

"Just kinda amazed that I managed to win against that thing, I mean, the size of it. But I won. I'm a hero today!" Joan laughed a little. "That, and I know I can look back on this day with a smile."

"Interesting way to look at it. But we should go tell the Great Deku Tree that you've killed the parasite." Navi said and Joan pushed herself back up, and confidently began her way back up and outside.

"Well done, Joan..." spoke the Great Deku Tree once Joan came back outside into the warm, bright sun. "Thou hast verily demonstrated thy courage... I knew that thou wouldst be able to carry out my wishes... Now, I have yet more to tell ye, wouldst thou listen?"

"Yeah, sure." Joan nodded as she sat down and let Navi sit on top of her head to give her wings a rest.

"Now...listen carefully... A wicked man of the desert cast this dreadful curse upon me... This evil man ceaselessly uses his vile, sorcerous powers in his search for the Sacred Realm that is connected to Hyrule... For it is in that Sacred Realm that one will find the divine relic, the Triforce, which contains the essence of the gods... Before time began, before spirits and life existed..."

The story of the Golden Goddesses Din, Nayru and Farore, wasn't a new one for Joan. The Deku Tree had often told that story to the Kokiri so it was pretty well known in the forest but she listened on anyway. Though in truth, she was more interested to know who exactly this 'evil man' was.

"Three Golden Goddesses descended upon the chaos that was Hyrule... Din, the goddess of power... Nayru, the goddess of wisdom... Farore, the goddess of courage... Din... With her strong flaming arms, she cultivated the land and created the red earth. Nayru... Poured her wisdom onto the earth and gave the spirit of law to the world. Farore... With her rich soul, produced all life forms who would uphold the law. The three great goddesses, their labors completed, departed for the heavens. And golden sacred triangles remained at the point where the goddesses left the world. Since then, the sacred triangles have become the basis for our world's providence.

"And, the resting place of the triangles has become the Sacred Realm. Thou must never allow the desert man in black armor to lay his hands on the sacred Triforce... Thou must never suffer that man, with his evil heart, to enter the Sacred Realm of legend... That evil man who cast the death curse upon me and sapped my power... Because of that curse, my end is nigh..."

Joan's heart dropped and she stood up so quickly Navi would have fallen off if she hadn't already flown up from the shock.

"But- but- but," Joan stopped briefly to cease her stuttering before she tried to talk again. "But I killed the parasite! Navi can confirm it!"

"Though your valiant efforts to break the curse were successful, I was doomed before you started..." confessed the Great Deku Tree and Joan felt a small choking sensation.

"Then... Then that means you'll..." Joan couldn't bring herself to say the dreadful word. She had never had an experience with death before except for a few unfortunate animals. But to experience the death of the Deku Tree...

"Yes, I will pass away soon... But do not grieve for me... I have been able to tell you of these important matters... This is Hyrule's final hope... Joan... Go now to Hyrule Castle... There, thou will surely meet the Princess of Destiny... Take this stone with you."

Joan looked up and saw a single green stone with curled gold metal attached to it hovering towards her. When it was within arms reach, Joan took the stone gently and looked back up towards the great tree.

"The stone that man wanted to much, that he cast the curse on me... The future depends upon thee, Joan... Thou art courageous... Navi the fairy... Help Joan to carry out my will... I entreat ye... Navi... Good...bye..."

His voice gave on that last word. The bark of the Great Deku Tree began to wither and turned to a dark, ash colour and the creaks of wood could be heard coming from it. Joan could only stare, not sure how exactly to react. She felt a wetness around her eyes but wiped the tears away before putting the stone in her pocket and swallowed the lump in her throat. For now, she would save her tears for later.

"Let's go to Hyrule Castle, Joan..." Joan could hear the sadness in Navi's voice.

"Are you sure you don't want a moment here? Maybe alone?" Joan questioned.

"... We have to carry out his wish. It's not like this will be the last time we'll be here," Navi murmured. "You should pack some things. Just incase."

"Then lets get going then. I'll pack a spare set of clothes and some rupees. Maybe a little food. That's all I need really."

Joan kept her head high as she turned and began the walk back to the small village, though each step did feel heavy. And the sight of Mido just ahead of them wasn't helping either.

"Hey, Joan! What did you do?!" Mido demanded once he saw the look on Joan's face. A few other Kokiri watched on, knowing something was wrong with the pale face Joan had.

"The... The Great Deku Tree..." Joan trailed off, not sure what exactly to say. "He... A man came here and put a curse on him, and I killed the parasite but... he was already doomed..."

The atmosphere became heavy, and nearly everyone bowed their heads in respect. A few had tears in their eyes.

"The Great Deku Tree... Did he... Die...?" Even Mido looked shocked, and for a moment Joan could have sworn she saw tears building up. But he glared sharply. "How could you let a thing like that happen?! It's all your fault!"

None of the Kokiri said anything but from hearing Joan's side of the story they doubted it could have been her fault. Joan simply had a blank look on her face after hearing Mido's accusation. That blank look soon became dark with anger and she quickly grabbed his shoulder and punched his cheek. It wasn't as hard as Joan hoped, but it was enough to get rid of some frusration and it hurt Mido enough to make him groan as Joan simply walked by to go to her tree house to pack.

She did feel sorrow for what happened. But it was beyond her control.

* * *

**To answer you're question Colleentj, I was thinking of Joan of Arc when I named my character. That and it sounded like a name that would exist in the setting of Legend of Zelda. The other reason for choosing the name was that it is unisex since in some languages it can be used for a boy which means if I decide to go with it, Darunia's son could still be named after Joan. Also, thank you for your review. I can tell that if this story wasn't good, you would have been honest about it and actually given reasons so the story could be improved.**

**And thanks to you as well The night's shade. I'm flattered by how much you like my stories (At least that's what I've interpreted from your review addressed to 'me' (such a clever choice of name on their part, isn't it?) ) It's also good to see that there are still people with common sense realise that there are more then just one kind of opinion and tastes.**


	3. Castle Town

"Okay, I think that's it." Joan said asked she put her satchel bag on. She only brought what was necessary since it would be pointless to bring anything else. The sun was still up and Joan was pretty sure that if she left right now she would make it to Hyrule Castle before it got dark. True, she didn't know where exactly the place was. But if it was a castle it was bound to stand out. If not, she would just have to hope that she would run into someone on the way who could give directions.

"Might as well get started then," Navi said. Joan only nodded in agreement as she left her home. The pair had not completely gotten over the death of the Great Deku Tree. But seeing as how there was nothing more to be done, they could only do what they were asked of. Joan couldn't really deny though that she was excited to go outside the woods for the first time ever.

Joan had just gone halfway across the bridge when she heard footsteps behind her.

"Oh, you're leaving..." Joan cringed slightly as she recognised the voice. It wasn't so much she had planned on leaving without telling Saria. She just forgot. Thinking on it now that was actually a terrible excuse but regardless, Joan turned around to face Saria. She looked sad but there was some understanding in her eyes.

"Well, er... I was... Kinda asked to go to Hyryle Castle by the Deku Tree." Joan explained as she scratched the back of her neck. "It was important. I'm suppose to meet someone there."

"I understand. To be honest, I knew that you would leave the forest someday, Joan." Saria admitted. This surprised Joan a lot.

"Seriously?"

"Well, you were always different from us..." Saria then gave a warm smile. "But that's okay, because we'll always be friends."

"... Forever?"

"Forver," Saria promised before she took out a peach coloured ocarina that looked very similar to her own one. "I want you to have this ocarina."

"Thank you..." Joan took the instrument from Saria gently as if it was fragile. "I promise I'll take good care of it, Saria."

"I know you will."

"And, I also promise that I'll come and visit," Joan added quickly. "And that, and that when I do, I'll have created my own song on it and you'll be the first to hear!" Joan lightly chuckled when Navi fluttered her wings rapidly in annoyance. "After Navi I mean." Saria laughed along.

"Then I'll be looked forward to it then. But when you play the ocarina, I hope you'll think of me."

"Of course I will. You're my best friend. Who else is there to think of?" Joan joked. "And it's not like I'm leaving forever. I'll come back and visit as soon as I can. Friendships don't end because people are apart. That's what you told me once. Except this time we'll actually have to be apart. Temporally."

"Glad to see I've thought you some good things." Saria teased and Joan pouted.

"Is this because I punched Mido? Because he started it!"

"I'll just believe you then." The two girls smiled though some of the cheerfulness was gone and replaced with some sadness. Joan then immediately hugged Saria briefly before letting go.

"Just in case." These was the last words Joan said before she turned around and began her journey to the outside world.

The way outside the Kokiri forest was through a large tunnel made from an old tree. Joan kept her eyes forward as her heart steadily beated on. This was it. The moment she had waited for. The outside world. It wasn't too far now. Just a few more steps.

Like Navi had said, there was a great, big field as Joan left the forest, with few trees and several rocks. There were mountains and Joan could make out in the distance one mountain with halo shaped smoke around it. The blue sky decorated with shapeless clouds was easier to see here then underneath tree branches and even the air had a different feel to it as Joan breathed in.

"The outside..." Joan murmured. She lightly chuckled which grew into a laugh as she ran straight ahead and purposely fell onto the grass and rolled in the same direction until stopping on her back. She felt the grass under her fingers. Heated from constant, direct contact from the sun and having nothing to shade them. "This. Is awesome!" Joan giggled, feeling a bit of a high.

"I know you're having fun. But don't forget what we have to do." Navi reminded Joan.

"I know, I know," Joan mumbled as she sat up. "Can you fly up and see which way it is to the castle?" Navi didn't say anything but did fly up and quickly came back down and pointed in the right direction.

"It's this way. We'll have to go through the town in front of it"

"Alrighty then," Joan said as she got up and began following Navi. "Maybe if we see anything interesting we can go see it?"

"Joan..."

"Oh come on..." Joan whined. "It would just be a quick look. Not like it'd be delaying too much... And you know you want to too!" Navi gave a tiny sigh.

"How about a compromise. We'll see what we have to do exactly when we meet this 'Princess of Destiny', and if we have time we'll see what we can do. How's that?"

"I'm gonna hold you too it." Joan said with a grin.

Not having a way to tell the time, Joan couldn't really tell how long it took for her and Navi to reach Castle Town. Since the sun was still up the drawbridge was still down when they made it to the town. And it was a very busy town with a lot of people going about their day with busy and pleasure. It was a strange thing for Joan to see so many adults in one place and it would have made her feel very tiny if it wasn't for the fact that there were children out playing their games. or chasing pets.

Seeing a fountain in the center of the town plaza, Joan ran up to it and grabbed onto the railings to get a better look over the clear water. Looking around this town alone made Joan excited and curious about what more there could be. She looked down on the water to look at her smiling reflection, and made several faces in it. Though the sudden appearance of red was a shock for Joan causing her to let go of the railings with a small yelp and fall onto the ground. Joan looked sharply up to see the one who caused it was a girl around her age with long red hair wearing a white dress with some blue around the trimmings. The cheerful looking girl just simply giggled.

"Sorry 'bout that. Didn't mean to make you scream."

"Didn't scream," Joan grumbled defensively as she got back up.

"Sorry, but you just seemed like you're not from around here," the girl explained. "Your clothes are kinda different from what's usually seen here so I was kinda curious." Joan had to admit that after a quick glance around her, the red haired girl may have had a decent excuse.

"Well, I'm not. I'm from the Kokiri Forest."

"Oh, so your a fairy girl from the forest?" Joan wasn't too sure how to feel about that nickname. It irked her, but the girl did seem nice enough so far and wanted to give her a chance. But she would give her name anyway just to avoid having the nickname stick.

"Well, I've grown up Kokiri if that's what you mean. My name's Joan." Joan introduced herself.

"Nice to meet you. My name's Malon," the girl said back. "My dad owns the Lon Lon Ranch outside of town."

"'Lon Lon Ranch'?"

"Yeah. My dad's actually gone to deliver milk from the cows to the castle. But he hasn't returned home yet. So, I decided to go and see if I could find him." Malon gave a small giggle. "I wouldn't be surprised if daddy fell asleep. He's kinda lazy sometimes."

"Well... I could go look for you," Joan offered. She figured she may as well hit two birds with one stone if there was an opportunity. "I'm kinda heading to the castle myself so if I do see him I'll make sure to let him know your waiting for him."

"Really? Thank you," Malon smiled. "I should probably get back to the ranch then and help out Mr. Ingo. He's alright but he's kinda grumpy." Malon had turned to leave but then turned around a split second later. "OH! Before I go, maybe when you're done here you can visit the ranch?"

"Sure!" Joan agreed quickly. Now Navi definitely wouldn't have an excuse to not see something after they were finished with the town. "Can't hurt to see something new."

"Great! I hope to see you soon." Malon waved to Joan as she began walking away, and Joan returned the wave.

"You really are planning to hold me to my promise. Aren't you?" Navi questioned and Joan stuck her tongue out.

"You promised and I'm just making sure. Sides, I wanna see what's on that ranch. And Malon seemed fairly nice."

"We'll go but we do have to go to the castle."

"I know, Navi. I know."

Making her way down some streets, Joan stopped when she saw some street merchants selling some small jewelry. Joan thought over it briefly and decided that she would get something for Saria. It would give her an excuse to visit her anyway.

"Joan, what are you doing? We have to go to the castle," Navi told her.

"Don't worry. I just want to buy a present for Saria. Then we'll go to the castle. I promise." Joan looked over a few bracelets before spotting one that seemed perfect. It was fairly simple. Just a silver chain with small cockle shells on it. Joan was pretty sure Saria would like it. The price seemed reasonable enough. Being about fourteen rupees. Joan brought all her rupees with her and she could always do some odd jobs if she needed more.

"Hey mister. S'okay if I buy this? I have the rupees." The middle aged merchant didn't say anything but seemed happy enough to do buisness and gladly excepted Joan's rupees. "Okay. NOW, we're going to the castle. For reals this time." Joan told Navi as they began walking towards the other side of town.

The castle was definitely big as Joan expected. The stone walls looked clean and well taken care of and there were a few towers though probably more rooms inside of it. Joan gave a low whistle. Deeply impressed by it all.

"Man. They seriously have a place this big for the Princess and her family?"

"Well, I think they would have some quarters for servants and maybe guards. But I wouldn't be too sure," Navi said. "But the real question is, how do we get past that guard at the gate?" Navi of course was referring to one of the palace guards who's uniform was a dark purple with silver helmets, and spear in hand.

"Maybe we should ask first and see what happens." Joan suggested as she walked towards the silver shining gate.

"Well, at least we can't do it that way we can cross it off the list." Navi said thoughtfully. The guard just raised an eyebrow as Joan came up to the gate and stepped in front of her.

"And can I asked what you think you're doing, young lady?"

"I was wondering if maybe I could go in and see Princess Zelda?" Navi wanted to face palm herself over Joan's bluntness was. The girl could have at least TRIED to lie this one time!

"You want to see Princess Zelda, eh?" The Guard seemed to be trying to sound serious, though it was clear he was holding back serious laughter. "You probably heard of her in town and decided to meet her, eh?"

"Err..." Joan wasn't sure how to respond to that but was surprised when the guard started to laugh.

"Go home, kid! Get out of here! The princess would never grant an audience with the likes of you!" Joan bit her tongue at the rudeness of the guard and glanced back at the gate. Plan B forming in her mind.

"Alright. Sorry for wasting you-" Joan cut herself off and kicked the guard in his shin. The guard dropped the spear he had been carrying and gripped the area that Joan kicked. Said girl made a mad dash to the gate and tried to climb it but unfortunately for her the guard got over his pain quickly enough and grabbed Joan by the back of the neck of her tunic.

"I'm going to give you a warning and let you go! Do that again and you'll be in serious trouble little girl!" The guard was clearly now in a bad mood as he walked a little up the road Joan had walked down on and dropped her to the ground before returning to his post.

"Kinda worth it, but I hope you have a better plan." Navi said. Joan just grumbled about how rude the guard was and brushed herself off. She glanced around before noticing something helpful. On one wall along the road there vines that led to a ledge that could get her over the gates and past the guard!

"Navi? How do you feel about breaking in?"


	4. Meeting the Princess

Navi had been hesitant about the idea of breaking into the castle grounds, but if the guards weren't going to allow Joan in and there was some convenient vines strong enough to support Joan, what other way was there? When Joan got to the top she kept low and moved across until she made it over the gate and dropped into the castle grounds. There were more guards patrolling, but Joan saw a gap that she was certain that if she kept low they wouldn't spot her.

Thank Nayru that Jaon's clothes blended in with the grass.

"Navi. Is it just me, or are these guards just terrible at their job?" Joan questioned as she pulled herself out of the moat. Having jumped in and swam around to the other side of the castle to avoid detection.

"Considering a ten year old girl just managed to sneak by with little difficulty, I would be very concerned." Navi agreed.

"Doesn't really matter right now though since it worked out for us," Joan said as she sat on the edge and emptied water out of her brown boots. "We need to think of something now before we-"

A snore sounded out making Joan freeze and both she and Navi looked sharply to their left to see a man sleeping on his side near a couple crates. The fact he wasn't wearing a guards uniform and instead a red shirt and blue overalls gave some relief. But that didn't mean they couldn't be careful. Navi flew over to the crates as Joan walked behind after putting her boots back on.

"What's it say on the crates?"

"They have milk from the Lon Lon Ranch," Navi answered as she looked over the name and logo on the crate.

"Lon Lon..." Joan trailed off as she thought of the familiar name before realization hit. "OH! This must be Malon's dad. She did say he was kinda lazy I think."

"We should wake him up then." Joan squatted down and gripped his shoulder and shuck him a bit.

"Excuse me? Mr. Malon's Dad? You kinda need to wake up now."

"Welcome... Our ranch is so fun..." Was all Joan could get from the sleeping mumbles.

"Geez. And Saria says I'm lazy when it comes to sleep," Joan mumbled before she shuck a bit harder. "Sir. Sir wake up."

"Maybe a bird noise would wake him up." Navi suggested. Joan thought this through.

"We don't have a bird with us..." Joan said before she eyed the water. An idea coming to mind, she scooped some in her hands and dropped what she had gathered on the man's face. Seeing him flinch a little in his sleep, Joan repeated this process until he began to cough and began to stand up. Looking a bit shocked and not fully awake. Joan stood up quickly as the man looked around.

"What in tarnation." Finally, Malon's father noticed Joan standing not too far away. "Oh, hello. Who might you be?"

"My name's Joan sir, and do you happen to own the Lon Lon Ranch?" Joan questioned and he nodded.

"Yep, I'm Talon, the owner of the Lon Lon Ranch. I went to the castle to deliver milk , but I sat down to rest and I guess I fell asleep." Talon explained to the young girl who nodded.

"Right. It's just that your daughter Malon asked me to check if you were still here and-"

"WHAT?!" Talon looked fully awake and alert at that moment. "Malon was looking for me? I'm gonna catch it from her now!" There was some more but Joan couldn't hear it as he then ran away. Leaving a trail of dust behind.

"That was kinda strange," Navi commented. "But look! You can use that to get inside." Navi pointed to a hole in the castle wall that allowed water into the moat. "Try moving the boxes into the moat."

"Gotcha."

It wasn't the most wonderful and lavish way in, but it was a way in. They had gotten into the courtyard which had more guards patrolling. Luckily their routine of patrolling was fairly simple and gave Joan plenty of chances to go past them with ease. It also led to the question of who exactly hired them but that was a question for another day.

"Well that was surprisingly easy," Joan commented as she and Navi went through long archway.

"Wait here, I'll see if there are anymore guards ahead." Navi flew up ahead and quickly flew back and nearly hit into Joan's face. "Okay, there's no guards and I think the princess is right through there!"

"Brilliant!" Joan grinned. "We'll just go and-"

"Fix your hair up first! You want to look presentable." Navi scolded as she picked up some of Joan's loose hair and tucked it behind her ears as Joan tried to gently brush her away.

"I don't think she would really care."

"Well it doesn't hurt to look nice." Navi lightly scolded as Joan walked up ahead to what appeared to be the main garden of the castle. There were red and yellow flowers, decorative bushes, a small moat and cornflower blue banner tapestries on the walls. Up ahead standing near a window appeared a girl dressed in white and pink with a gold belt, and a veil that hid all of her hair. If she had to guess, Joan would have said the girl was around her age. Maybe a year older. Joan hesitantly walked up to her silently and once she was close enough she cleared her throat.

The girl turned around, looking very startled. Joan noticed her eyebrows were blonde so assumed that was her hair colour.

"Who are you? How did you get past the guards?" She demanded calmly, though she did look a little uncomfortable. Understandable considering Joan did break into private property. However the young princess spotted Navi hovering Joan's head and looked at Joan curiously. "Is that a fairy? Then... Are you from the forest?"

"Y-yeah?" Joan was a bit surprised by the princess's sudden curiosity, But she figured it was just a natural curiosity. The girl's eyes seen to brighten.

"You wouldn't happen to have the Spiritual Stone of the Forest, would you?" The princess was holding her hands together and looked to be almost praying. Although a bit unsure at first, Joan nodded and pulled said stone out of her pocket to show it. The princess laughed as she clapped her hands together. "Just as I thought."

"I'm guessing this is really important to you then?" Joan guessed as she put the stone back in her pocket.

"Let me explain. I had a dream. In it, there were dark, storm clouds billowing over the land of Hyrule. But suddenly, a ray of light shot out of the forest, parted the clouds, and lit up the ground. The light turned into a figure with a green and shining stone, followed by a fairy. I knew that this was a prophecy that someone would come from the forest."

"And you were sure that this was me?" Joan had a tiny smile breaking out on her lips as the young princess nodded in confirmation.

"Yes, I thought you might be the one." The girl suddenly looked a little embarrassed. "Oh, I'm sorry! I got carried away with my story and didn't even properly introduce myself! I am Zelda, Princess of Hyrule. What is your name?"

"It's nice to meet you. My name's Joan." Zelda looked a bit surprised to hear that name and lightly furrowed her eyebrows.

"Joan?" She murmured. "Strange. It sounds somehow familiar." She seemed to shake the thought off as she smiled to Joan. "Okay then, Joan. I'm going to tell you the secret of the Sacred Realm that has been passed down by the Royal Family of Hyrule. You'll keep this a secret, won't you?"

"Of course I will," Joan agreed. "Though I'm not sure why exactly you're willing to trust me with it."

"I'll explain soon," Zelda promised. "The legend goes like this...

"The three goddesses hid the Triforce containing the power of the gods somewhere in Hyrule. The power to grant the wish of the one who holds the Triforce in his hands. If someone with a righteous heart makes a wish, it will lead Hyrule to a golden age of prosperity... If someone with an evil mind has his wish granted, the world will be consumed by evil. That is what has been told. So, the ancient Sages built the Temple of Time to protect the Triforce from evil ones."

"And, is this Temple of Time connected to the Sacred Realm?" Joan asked. Princess Zelda nodded before she continued.

"That's right. The Temple of Time is the entrance through which you can enter the Sacred Realm from our world. But the entrance is sealed with a stone wall called the Door of Time. And, in order to open the door, it is said that you need to collect three Spiritual Stones. And another thing you need is the treasure that the Royal Family keeps along with this legend. The Ocarina of Time!"

"I see," Joan nodded. "Well, I understand the story. But you haven't exactly told me where the problem actually is." The princess looked into the window she had been spying through earlier and looked back to Joan.

"In there. The man in black. I think he is what was represented the dark clouds in my dream. Please look." Zelda stepped to the side. Joan was a little hesitant since she was afraid of being spotted but she did as Zelda asked.

Inside appeared some kind of hallway and there were at least two guards inside. Maybe four if there were two across from them. Joan then saw a muscular man with black armour. His skin appeared to be an olive green colour which contrasted greatly with his bright red hair. He appeared to be kneeling down which led Joan to assume that the man was in the throne room and kneeling to the king.

"That is Ganondorf, the leader of the Gerudos. They hail from the desert far to the west."

Joan went a little wide eyed as a thought struck her. A man from the desert? Wasn't the Deku Tree cursed by a wicked man from the desert? Joan clenched her teeth and kept silent as Zelda continued on.

"Though he swears allegiance to my father, I am sure he is not sincere. The dark clouds that covered Hyrule in my dream... They must symbolize that man!"

"I can't blame you for thinking that," Joan said a little darkly. "If he's the person I think he is, he cursed the Deku Tree!"

"I... I'm sorry for your loss," Zelda said sincerely. Before could think of turning to give the young princess a smile, Ganondorf suddenly looked towards the window and Joan backed away quickly from the shock.

"I think he saw me!" Joan said quickly.

"Don't worry. He doesn't have any idea what we're planning...yet!" Zelda assured Joan.

"If you say so," Joan murmured. Slightly unsure. "But, if you have your doubts about him, haven't you tried telling your dad?" Zelda frowned and Joan already knew what the answer would be.

"Yes. I told my father about my dream. However, he didn't believe it was a prophecy. But... I can sense that man's evil intentions! What Ganondorf is after must be nothing less than the Triforce of the Sacred Realm. He must have come to Hyrule to obtain it! And, he wants to conquer Hyrule. ...No, the entire world!" Zelda took a deep breath before looking back at Joan with a hopeful look. "Joan. Now, we are the only ones who can protect Hyrule! Please! My prophecies have never been wrong!"

"... I believe you," Joan said slowly. "To be honest, I was sent here to meet you by the Great Deku Tree before he moved on. So there's no reason not to in my opinion. Even if your prophecy is wrong, there is definitely something wrong with Ganondorf."

"Thank you," Zelda beamed. "We can not allow him to get near the Triforce! I have a feeling he'll destroy Hyrule with that power!"

"So what shall we do then?" Joan asked.

"I... I hate having to ask this of you. But I can't leave to castle grounds. Could you collect the other two spiritual stones? With all three we can get the Triforce before Ganondorf does, and defeat him! I'll stay here and guard the Ocarina of Time."

"Sure," Joan agreed. "Just tell me where to go find them."

"The Spiritual Stone of Fire should be with the Gorons on Death Mountain, and the Spiritual Stone of Water should be with the Zoras in their domain behind the waterfall that is the source of the river that runs in front of Castle Town," the princess explained. "I'd suggest talking with the leader of each group since they are more likely to have it or at least know it's location."

"Alright then. We'll defeat him. Together!" Joan said with determination.

"Yes. But one more thing..." Zelda took out some paper and wrote something on it before folding the page neatly and handing it to Joan. "There's a guard just before the trek up Death Mountain. This should let you through."

"Thank you, Zel- er... your highness." Joan quickly corrected herself. While she did not have much experience with royalty, that did feel more proper.

"You don't have to refer to me as that. It's not like this is something formal." Zelda said with a small smile.

"Right. Zelda," Joan nodded. She noticed Zelda suddenly look over her shoulder

"My attendant will guide you out of the castle. Don't be afraid to talk to her. It would probably be best so you don't get in trouble with the guards."

Joan turned around to see the attendant standing in the archway. She didn't seem that old though her hair was pure white. Her clothes consisted of dark blue and silver armour, and a blue choker attached to it. While Joan did walk up to her as Zelda told her too, she did have an uneasy feeling from her. Maybe it was her somewhat stern look or her red eyes. But Joan felt that this woman was possibly going to be one of the few things that would ever scare her and be unwilling to fight unless really pushed to it.

Clearing her throat once she stood in front of the attendant, Joan managed to speak without showing that uneasy feeling.

"Hello miss. My name's Joan." The attendant nodded and spoke.

"I am Impa of the Sheikahs. I am responsible for protecting Princess Zelda. Everything is exactly as the Princess foretold." As this was said, Impa was eyeing Joan, as if examining whether she was worthy to do this quest. She seemed satisfied with Joan as she continued. "You are a courageous girl. You are heading out on a big, new adventure, aren't you? My role in the Princess's dream was to teach a melody to the one from the forest. Do you have an instrument?"

Joan nodded and quickly took out the ocarina Saria had given her. She was really glad she had bought a bracelet to give to her now. Impa nodded in approval.

"This is an ancient melody passed down by the Royal Family. I have played this song for Princess Zelda as a lullaby ever since she was a baby. There is mysterious power in these notes. Now listen carefully."

Impa held two fingers to her lips and began whistling the melody. It was simple but it was very peaceful sounding. When Impa had played the tune the first two times Joan took her turn to try and imitate the lullaby. While the first two times were a bit shaky, Joan did have the basic idea how it should sound. It was on the third try that it sounded perfect. Or at least it was satisfactory for Impa's standards.

"Come. If the castle soldiers find you, there will be trouble. Let me lead you out of the castle." Joan followed after Impa, having to lightly jog to keep up with Impa's strides.

Outside the town walls, Impa stopped and looked towards the mountain that had the halo shaped cloud of smoke.

"You brave lass... We must protect this beautiful land of Hyrule! I believe that the princess has already told you where we can find the spiritual stones?"

"Yes."

"Good." Impa nodded. "Now listen. At the foot of Death Mountain you will find my village, Kakariko. That is where I was born and raised. You should talk to some of the villagers there before you go up Death Mountain. The song I just taught you has some mysterious power. Only Royal Family members are allowed to learn this song." Impa lightly put extra emphasis on this to highlight its importance. "Remember, it will help to prove your connection with the Royal Family." Impa began to back away from Joan. "The Princess is waiting for you to return to the castle with the stones. All right. We're counting on you!"

Impa threw a deku knut on the ground and the crack and flash of grey was all Joan could see and hear before she saw that Impa had vanished.

"Who would have thought we'd be involved with something like this?" Navi asked out loud to Joan. "We can't let them down!"

"That's not even gonna be an option!" Joan told the blue fairy before looking up to the sky, noticing it was beginning to turn slightly orange. "Do you think we'll even make it to Kakariko before nightfall?"

"I'm not sure," Navi admitted. "Maybe we should go to the Lon Lon Ranch and we'll get up tomorrow morning and head out. I think Talon and his daughter will be okay with you spending the night at least."

"Do you think maybe we can visit Saria tomorrow before we head to Death Mountain?" Joan asked.

"... I don't see why not," Navi said. "I think it would be a good idea to tell her about this adventure."

"Okay, so Lon Lon Ranch, Kokiri Forest, Death Mountain and the Zora's Domain. Then back to Princess Zelda. How's that sound?"

"Sounds like a plan." Navi said. "But we should get going if we want to make it to the Lon Lon Ranch before dark.

Joan agreed and the pair made their way to the ranch. With plans to visit a friend in the morning before beginning one of the more dangerous parts of their quest.


	5. The Ranch

It was still evening by the time Joan and Navi made it to the Lon Lon Ranch, even with the time they had paused to eat a small dinner. It was on a raised mound with fences around the edges to keep the animals safe. The atmosphere was relaxing and made Joan feel laid back. As Joan walked by the barn she accidently bumped into a man wearing a green shirt and white overalls who had very a very thick mustache and eyebrows. He glared down at Joan who cringed a little in response.

"What do you think you're doing here kid? You can't just wander here and-"

"Sorry, but I'm actually looking for a girl called Malon here. I think she's the owner's daughter," Joan cut across quickly. The man was obviously just going to berate her and Joan figured it would be best to meet with Malon before this man tried to throw her out. The man jerked his head up ahead towards a coral where there were a few horses grazing.

"She's probably up there singing to the horses. At least she does some work around here unlike her lazy bum of a father! Not as much as I, the hardworking Ingo." He walked away, grumbling what Joan assumed to be more insults directed towards Malon's dad.

"Someone's got a stick stuck up their butt." Joan mumbled to herself. Joan was actually a bit surprised to see him badmouth the man in charge of the ranch. He actually seemed look a more stuck up person then Mido even! But he wasn't really her concern so Joan just walked to the corral to see the red haired girl.

And indeed the man named Ingo was right as in the middle of the corral was Malon standing near a foal with a reddish-brown coat and white mane. As Joan neared the gate of the corral, she could hear Malon singing to the foal and thought she was a fairly good singer, unlike Joan who would admit if asked to being as good as a banshee. Unless imitating bird sounds counted. Joan could actually do a couple of small ones-

"Oh, hi fairy girl!" Joan snapped out of her line of thought when Malon suddenly called and waved to her. Joan waved back with a smile as she walked over to Malon.

"Hi Malon. Did your dad come home alright?"

"Yeah. Thanks for finding him," Malon said. "So did you get into the castle okay?"

"Once I found a way in, but it's sorta a long story," Joan said sheepishly. "I er... Actually have to do a sort of quest tomorrow and I was wondering, if it's okay with your dad, if I can stay the night? I'll be gone tomorrow morning."

"Sure. I'm sure dad won't mind." Malon responded happily. "A shame you didn't come here earlier. We already had dinner."

"That's alright. I ate on the way over." Joan waved it off.

"Oh, but first I have to introduce you to my friend, Joan." Malon started to light pet the foal's head. "She's this horse. Her name's Epona. Isn't she cute?"

"She is actually." Joan agreed happily and moved her hand to pet the horse. But before she could even make contact the horse backed away from her.

"It seems she's scared of you. But if you like, I can teach you the song I'm singing. My mother composed it and Epona really likes it." Malon offered and Joan beamed.

"Sure. But I'm gonna have to play it on my ocarina. My singing isn't exactly the best and it'll only scare all the horses away," Joan said as she took out her ocarina.

"That's no problem. I bet it'll sound good on it."

Malon began singing her melody and Joan memorized the tune and began trying to figure out which notes suited best. It took a few tries but the melody wasn't too difficult so Joan was able to finally learn the tune off. After that, Joan played the tune off on her own and when she had finished Epona had actually come up to her and started sniffing her hair and pushed her back until Joan fell down which resulted in giggling from Malon.

"It seems Epona likes you," Malon said. "Maybe when she's older she'll let you ride her."

"If she doesn't mind it I'd like to." Joan admitted as she stood back up and stroked the foal behind her ear. "We'll have wild adventures thoughout the Hyrule Field!" Both the girls laughed at that.

"Do you want to feed her?" Malon asked as she picked up a nearby bucket of horse feed.

"Really? Er, sure. Not really sure how to though..."

"Don't worry. You just have to take some of the feed in your hands and hold it out to Epona to eat. You have to keep your hands completely flat though." Malon explained.

"Alright then." Joan scooped what she felt was enough feed into her hands and held them out flat before holding it towards Epona. Said horse sniffed the food at first before she began eat from Joan's hands. Joan couldn't help but giggle slightly from Epona's tongue since it felt a little ticklish on her hands.

"So where are you going tomorrow morning?" Malon asked curiously. Joan thought over her answer briefly before responding.

"I'm gonna make a quick visit to a friend in the forest. Then I'm heading to Kakariko village."

"The home of the Sheikah?" Malon sounded surprised as she said this.

"'Sheikah'?" Joan repeated with small confusion. Now that she thought about it, she remembered Impa using that word when introducing herself but Joan didn't really thinking about it until now. "What exactly is a 'Sheikah'?"

"From what I heard they're shadow people who are supposed to guard the Royal Family," Malon explained to Joan. "They look similar to Hylians, but they're eyes are normally red from what I heard. The Kakariko village was originally Sheikah exclusive, but I heard a man tell my fatherone day that one of the last ones opened it up to poorer people who can't live in Castle Town."

"What do you mean by last ones exactly?" Joan was really curious now.

"Well, from what I know I think there aren't that many left. I'm not sure why, but there was this civil war ten years ago. Some of the Sheikah could have been killed in that."

Joan frowned a little as she thought over this. It was hard to imagine that there was any problem in this outside world besides Ganondorf. She briefly wondered if this civil war had anything to do with the Triforce. From what the Deku Tree and Princess Zelda said, it was a very important and powerful so it wouldn't be too surprising for there to be war over it. It also made Joan wonder what would happen after she and Zelda took the Triforce. What would Ganondorf's response be? Would there be a war between the Gerudos and Hyrule seeing how Ganondorf was their leader? Would her and Zelda's life be in danger? Would there be another civil war?

Joan pushed these thoughts away and tried to focus on stroking Epona's fine coat. There was one last thought related to this, though it was much kinder in comparison. Joan couldn't help but muse over the fact that she would have actually been born around the time of the civil war.

"Joan, time to wake up!"

"Five more minutes..." Joan slurred in her sleep. Navi grumbled to herself as she had a strong feeling she would be going through this routine a lot with Joan each morning.

"We have to get up now if we're going to visit Saria and get the Spiritual Stone of Fire!" Navi tried tugging on one of Joan's short locks and tugged but Joan waved her hand at Navi. The fairy puffed her cheeks as she tried to think of a different solution. She flew over Joan's face and pinched her nose shut. A few seconds later, Joan snorted and shot up so fast that she hit Navi with her head causing her to nearly hit into the wall.

"N-Navi-?!"

"Sorry, Joan. But you wouldn't wake up." Navi told her simply.

"Right. Sorry," Joan mumbled as she tied her hair up. "What time is it anyway?"

"Nearly eight," Navi answered. "We did agree to wake up early."

"I guess." Joan yawned as she got out of bed and pulled her boots on. "Are Malon and her dad up yet?"

"Don't think so, but you did say you were leaving in the morning."

"Guess I'll just leave a note or something," Joan said. "Least I can do. Besides, I can visit again another time."

Indeed Talon and Malon weren't up yet, so Joan left a note on the kitchen table giving thanks for the hospitality before she left. She was still a bit drowsy and Navi was possibly the only thing that was keeping her from getting lost because of that. Gradually though, the sleepiness was wearing off as Joan made her way to the forest and to her home. Joan immediately made her way to Saria's house, thinking it to be a good place to look for her friend.

"What are you doing here?" Joan mentally groaned and turned around to face Mido.

"Hello Mildew." Joan said in a bored tone. Making Mido clenched his jaw at that infuriating nickname. "I'm just here to say hi to Saria before I have to continue a task."

"Well, she's not here," Mido said as he folded his arms. "She's at the Forest Temple in the Lost Woods. You DO know how to get there, right?" He questioned in a mocking tone. Joan huffed a little.

"I am fully capable of finding my way through the woods. Saria'll probably be playing her ocarina so that'll help me on the way through." Mido huffed as he folded his arms.

"I don't see why she likes to hang out with you." Mido muttered.

"I'm more lovable?" Joan guessed. True, Saria didn't have any negative feelings towards Mido and did see him as a friend like she did most people. But she did tend to take Joan's side more then Mido's. There wasn't another word between them as Joan made her way towards the Lost Woods. Said woods were as the name suggested, capable of making most people get lost so if you were unfamiliar with the area let alone the woods, it would be rise to bring something with you to mark some trees so that you wouldn't end up stuck in the woods. Kokiri, while they too could get lost in the woods, were at a lower risk then outsiders of being trapped in the woods and never escaping. Though as far as anyone could remember, that had never happened.

"Alright I think I hear the music this way," Joan said she went through another route. Navi following close behind.

"Are you sure that's not just the music echoing out?" Asked Navi.

"It's better then nothing. Besides, I'm pretty sure the music sounds a bit louder this way," Joan mumbled as she walked in that direction and smiled once she saw the small maze that was before the temple. They were as good as there, and quickly made their way through until finally they were at the Forest Temple. It was built of light grey stone and the steps that led up to the entrance had been destroyed some year ago leaving the only way up by climbing up a tree that was close to it.

Saria was sitting nearby on a tree stump and was playing her ocarina as Joan had guessed she would. Joan walked up to her cheerfully.

"Hey, Saria. Figured you'd be here." Saria stopped playing and looked up and returned the smile Joan had.

"Good to see you decided to visit so soon, Joan."

"Well I figured it couldn't hurt to make a quick visit before I continue the task I have." Joan replied.

"So, how have you been doing on the ocarina? Have you composed that song you said you would."

"Oh, sorry. I kinda forgot with everything going on." Joan admitted sheepishly.

"Don't worry about it."

"But I did get you something!" Joan quickly rummaged through her pockets before pulling out the bracelet she had bought back in Castle Town. "I figured you might like this so I thought 'why not buy it'?"

"You didn't have to, but thank you anyway," Said Saria as Joan handed her the bracelet and put it on. "So since you haven't composed anything yet, how about I teach you my song?"

"Sounds like a plan." Joan agreed as she took out the ocarina Saria had given her and let Saria play ahead before following herself. Having heard the song so many times before, Joan picked it up faster then the other songs she had heard before.

"That was really good Joan."

"Thanks, Saria. I'm not sure when exactly I'll visit again, but I will."

"I know you'll come back. Just try to be safe." Joan chuckled a little.

"I'll try, but that seems a bit easier said then done."


	6. Kakariko Village

Joan probably would have stayed longer in the forest with Saria if she could have. But she had a job to do and those spiritual stones weren't going to find themselves and go to the Temple of Time. So she made her way towards the Kakariko village that Impa had told her to go to at the base of Death Mountain. It was close to noon by the time she got there and it had a similar feeling around it like at the Lon Lon Ranch. It was clear though that the town was under some development as there were carpenters going this way and that. Albeit they weren't exactly working at a fast pace.

Of course Joan couldn't help but look around the small community a bit. Not that Navi could really stop her. That's why they ended up wandering into a graveyard. Filled with the departed servants of the Royal Family.

"Huh. So this is the graveyard then? Looks kinda cool." Joan commented as she walked inbetween gravestones.

"Your not nervous here?" Navi questioned. If Joan could see her face she would have known how nervous she was.

"What's there to be nervous about? It's just some dead bodies buried underground. Nothing to be scared of," Joan shrugged before stopping at he biggest of the tombstones. "Let's see what this says." Joan murmured before reading.

_Here lies the tomb of the Royal Family of Hyrule._

_In life they lead their people, and may they have the peace they deserve in the after life._

"The Royal Family's tomb, eh?" Joan then noticed a stone slab in front of the tomb that had a Triforce symbol on it. "Hmm... I wonder what would happen if I played Zelda's Lullaby here?" Joan stood on the slab and took out her ocarina, and began to play the lullaby.

It was only when Joan had nearly finished that she noticed droplets of rain falling on the back of her neck, and looked up o see clouds and flashes of lightning. The sound of clashing thunder caused Joan to take a hesitant step backwards. But suddenly a bolt of lightning struck the tomb! Bursting it into rubble cause Joan to fall back with a yelp. Seeing the tombstone remains and the entracne to the tomb underneath, Joan had a look of shock on her face.

"Uh oh," was all she could say as she quickly stood up.

"Joan, what did you do?!" Navi demanded quickly. Trying to hide the panic from her own voice.

"I-I don't know! I just played the lullaby and... And this happened!" Joan said as she gestured to the rubble. She then looked back behind them. Keeping a careful eye out. "I... I don't think there's anyone here. We'll take a quick look in that tomb and leave before anyone notices and finds out!"

"You just blew up the Royal Family's tombstone and now you want to go in there?!"

"We're not gonna take anything! I just wanna look inside is all." Was all Joan answered with before she jumped into the hole. Followed by a reluctant Navi.

"It... It's kinda funny though, isn't it?" Joan chuckled nervously as they walked through a hallway infested with spiders and moths. "The one time I play an instrument and I blow something up."

"It won't be funny if anyone finds out!"

"Just... We'll be fine." Joan mumbled, trying to sound like there was no problem whatsoever. When they got to the end of the hallway, they opened up a passageway which opened into a chamber filled with things that made Joan turn pale.

Inside were what appeared to be walking corpses that only had some skin that looked a greyish brown colour. But a moajority of their bones were still visible and they had wooden masks on their faces that only showed two black eye sockets and yellowish teeth.

"N-Navi... What. ARE these things?" Joan hissed. Afraid to move and speak any louder.

"I think their redead," Navi answered nervously. "Just stay quiet. Don't go directly in front or near them. And we should be fine." Joan only nodded in response since now she was too scared to speak any louder. Understandable really, since she was only ten. Nonetheless, Joan went by them as quietly as she could. She was almost sure that she forgot how exactly to breath once she got to the other side of the room and entered the chamber at the end.

There seemed to be and entrance to where the royal family were actually buried at the end of the room, but like Joan said she wasn't planning on going any further then they already had. There was a poem written on it though and after taking a quick look over her shoulder to make sure there were no more redead, she read it.

_This poem is dedicated to the memory of the dearly departed members of the Royal Family. _

_The rising sun will eventually set. A newborn's life will fade. _

_From sun to moon, moon to sun._

_Give peaceful rest to the living dead._

_Restless souls wander where they don't belong._

_Bring them calm with the Sun's Song._

"Huh. That was kinda interesting," Navi commented before she spotted something on the passage and pointed towards it. "Joan, look! There's a melody inscribed on the passage! Think you can learn it?"

"Well, if I can learn off by ear, this is bound to be simple enough." Joan answered as she took out her ocarina, and began to learn the melody off. Personally, Joan preferred Saria's Song or Zelda's Lullaby. But it didn't hurt to learn a new tune off.

"That was good," Navi said as Joan finished. "Now let's go before the redead notice us." But Joan didn't respond. She just looked at her ocarina thoughtfully before looking behind her towards the way they came. She seemed to have settled on something though as she eventually began walking towards the redead filled chamber. She stopped there however and held the ocarina to her lips.

"Joan, what are you-" Navi however stopped speaking and instantly felt her blood dry up as Joan began playing the Sun's Song. Navi was about to question if the girl was suicidal before she noticed something.

The redead seemed to be standing completely still and not swaying lightly from side to side like they had been moments ago. The Sun's Song seemed to petrify them somehow. At least temporally.

"Joan... How did you know that would work?" Navi asked as she looked over all the redead. Joan smiled sheepishly as she put her ocarina away.

"Well, that poem mentioned the Sun's Song and the living dead. I just figured this song would be helpful with these guys."

"That was kinda a big risk just there. But lets just get out of here before they can move again, or someone else spots us."

The duo got out of the tomb and back into Kakariko to finally do what they had intended to do. To go up Death Mountain and collect the Spiritual Stone of Fire before Ganondorf!

"This road is closed beyond this point!"

As soon as they got past the guard at the gate.

"Sir, I-"

"Can't you read the sign over there, kid?" The guard cut Joan off. "Or can you not read yet?" Joan glared at the guard, feeling greatly insulted before she snapped.

"Hey, I'm ten and I can read so don't just go and say-"

"Hey, calm down will you," The guard sternly ordered. "I was just joking with you." Joan pursed her lips together briefly before she took out the letter that Princess Zelda gave her.

"Look. I have to go through here and I have permission. See?" Joan handed the letter to the guard who took it and began to read it. Joan could hear him reading to himself.

"Hmm. This is Princess Zelda's handwriting. 'This is Joan... She is under my orders to save Hyrule.'" The guard snorted and broke into laughter. Joan was beginning to wonder if the guard was ever thought manners from his family or superior. "What kind of funny game has our princess come up with now?!"

"One where if you don't open the gate after being given instructions from the Royal Family to do so, you could get in big trouble." Joan subtly threatened. While Joan wouldn't have done anything violent to the guard over words, that didn't mean she couldn't use words back.

"Okay, okay. I'll trust the princess knows what exactly she's doing." The Guard tapped his spear on the ground and the gate began to open up. "Just be careful Miss Hero." The guard chuckled again as Joan just scowled. She learned from the last time that kicking a guard in the shin probably wasn't going to work so that idea was thrown out. Instead she would just go up and-

"One thing though, kid."

"Yes?" Joan asked, politely as she could muster.

"Well if you're going to climb Death Mountain, you should equip a proper shield! It is an active volcano, after all!"

"... Oh." Joan had to admit that the guard actually had a point. All she had for a shield was a deku shield and that wasn't likely to last very long against fire.

"You should check the Bazaar in Castle Town. Their shields might be a bit big for you, but you'd have protection."

"Er... Thanks?" Joan said hesitantly. She was surprised that the guard was suddenly giving her advice all of a sudden. It might have been genuine help or just making sure he didn't get in too much trouble.

"No problem. But er... Could you do a favour for me?" The guard asked sheepishly.

"What is it?"

"Well you see, this mask shop opened up some time ago in Castle Town. It's pretty popular. My little boy pesters me for a popular mask but I don't have the time to get it. So maybe if you had the time and got a chance you could go get one for me so I can give it to my son?"

"Well... I'll see what I can do." Joan said.

"Thanks kid." Joan left after the guard gave his thanks and quickly made her way back down the track to get to Castle Town.

"Are you really going to help him?" Navi asked. Joan gave a small shrug.

"Why not? He needs help and it wouldn't feel right to not do it just because his dad was kinda annoying. We'll just go to this mask shop first before we go to the Bazaar. Just so we don't forget."

The mask shop the guard said was a bit obnoxiously bright and the image of a clown face unnerved Joan when she looked up at it. She was already questioning why this shop was popular but none the less she stepped inside of it. The inside was brightly coloured with masks everywhere. One or two looked very similar to the masks the redead had and made Joan cringe lightly from the memory.

"Hiyeee! Welcome to the Happy Mask Shop!" Joan looked over the counter and saw the man in charge, and frankly the smile had was kinda creepy in her opinion. But it was just a smile so surely there was nothing to be freaked out about.

"Er... Hi. I need to buy a mask here..."

"Oh, we don't sell masks dear," the man chuckled. Joan ignored the chuckle and just simply stared at him.

"But... You HAVE masks. I was told this was a mask shop."

"Yes, but here we lend them to people and then they sell the mask to someone else and bring the money back here." Joan slightly questioned how exactly that worked. It seemed more built on trust and while there were honest beings in the world, there was always a chance that someone might keep the money to themselves. Then again this may be some sort plan in order to spread word about his business. Once it really picked up it might conveniently happen that they will decide to sell masks the same way as most stores.

"Er... Right. Well, I'm not actually buying for myself. Just for this guard. And he actually gave me the money in advance." Okay, that was a lie. But she was paying for the guard and the mask would go to his kid so what harm could a tiny lie do?

"We don't normally except money in advance, but seeing how this is your first time here we'll make an exception."

"Thanks," Joan said as she quickly looked at some of the masks and spotted one that looked like a yellow mouse with pointy ears. "Er, that one there please?"

"Of course. I hope this guard likes it." The salesman took the mask and handed to Joan as soon she handed over ten rupees. "I hope to see you here again. After all when you sell masks, you become happy yourself. Just have faith."

"Hehehe," Joan laughed nervously as she put the mask in her satchel bag. This guy was really creeping her out now. "R-right. I'll keep that in mind. Thanks."

Joan planned to never come back unless it was for something very important.

"So what can I do for ya kid?" Joan had immediately gone to the Bazaar and found herself to be the only customer so she just went immediately to the counter.

"Could I have a shield please?" The clerk raised an eyebrow.

"A shield? Wouldn't that be a bit heavy for you?"

"I'll manage." Joan insisted. "I'm kinda stubborn like that."

"Well, if you insist. Anything else while you're here?" The clerk asked as he took a Hylian shield off the shelf. It was a royal blue with silver and red decorating it, along with the Triforce symbol. Joan looked at the shelves and noticed something very intriguing to her.

"What's that right there?"

"That would be a longshot," the clerk answered. "You can use it to shoot out a spearhead to get to some locations you might miss. I guess you could also use it to fight too if you needed too."

"Cool," Joan breathed, with stars in her eyes. She could already imagine herself going tree to tree with that! It would be so cool! "How much?"

"Sorry but I can't sell it to a kid. Come back when you're older and we'll talk. S'long as you have the money that is." Joan pouted a little from the small disappointment. She could have totally rubbed having a longshot in Mido's face.

"Alright then. What about that boomerang then?" Joan asked as she looked at a wooden boomerang with two green stripes at either end.

"Together with the shield it'll be a hundred rupees."

After paying for the shield and boomerang, Joan made her way back towards Kakariko village. With the shield on her back and boomerang on her belt. Joan didn't show it but she still wished she could have gotten the longshot. But being Kokiri she would never be old enough to have one. Well... It wasn't that big of a loss really. Who knows? Maybe she could start trying to make some sort of grappling hook when all of this was over. It'd be a fun little project.

"Are you sure you're okay with carrying that shield on your back?" Navi asked unsurely. "It doesn't seem like a good idea."

"Don't worry. I probably won't be able to just pull it off and hold it up for defense, but I think I'll be just as fine if I crouch. I mean, it's nearly the same size as me." Joan said just before they approached the same guard from before. "Hey mister. I got that mask for you." Joan told him as she handed the mask to him and he thankfully accepted it.

"Thanks kid. My son will appreciate it. Whatever it is you're doing up Death Mountain, I wish you luck with it."

"Thanks." Joan said before she looked up on the mountain. Before finding out it was an active volcano, Joan didn't think the mountain was that threatening. Now however there was some doubt. But if the faith of Hyrule depended on her getting those spiritual stones, then she would just have to brave new areas and hope the locals would be friendly enough to help. She would be brave and do what was right. She did promise Zelda she would do it.

So far, Joan had no broken promises she could remember.

* * *

**Glad you like my story so much DriftedDaisy, and thanks for the cookies :) Don't worry about those reviewers. Sometimes it's best just to ignore them. **


	7. Goron City

The Death Mountain trail so far wasn't too hazardous. There were a few creatures that Joan did have to defend herself against a few crab-like enemies called tektite, but the shield was helpful if she crouched down really low and tucked her head in. Like a turtle. But once the tektites were gone and Joan ignored the tired feeling that was starting to claw into her legs, the walk was more or less peaceful.

"I... I think maybe we should rest here," Joan mumbled as she got onto the more flat ground of the mountain and sat down. "My feet are killing me."

"My wings are getting tired too." Navi mumbled. "Do you mind if I rest on your head?"

"Go ahead," Joan said with a lazy shrug. "Not like I'm gonna stop you." Joan only realized how light Navi actually was. She did feel her land on her head but that was about it.

"... You have to admit. There's a pretty good view up here." Navi commented.

"Yeah. Sure is." Joan agreed.

"Can I help you with something, kid?" The sudden new voice startled Joan. Forcing her to stand up quickly to face the one who had talked. The being at first reminded Joan of a turtle because of his rocky back. But thinking on it more, Joan felt he kinda looked like a yellow hedgehog with rocks instead of spikes. No pointy nose and longer limbs. Joan guessed that he was a Goron and seeing how he sounded friendly enough so she answered back.

"Y-yeah. I'm actually here to meet with the leader of the Gorons. I'm not exactly sure where to look though."

"You're looking for Goron City then. It's just a little way up this trail. You're not too far away now." Joan smiled a little. Feeling releif to know she was soon at her destination.

"Thank you very much," Joan said but she noticed something. The Goron while he had sounded friendly actually seemed depressed. Joan tentatively asked, "Um, are you alright? You seem kinda... down."

"Well the problem is actually that right over there." The Goron pointed towards a huge boulder which looked to be blocking a cave from what Joan could tell. "You see, we Gorons are stone eaters. Inside that cave is where we usually collect our supply of tasty rocks."

"So I'm guessing it's very important then?"

"Yes. But one day, many dodongos appeared inside the cavern and became very dangerous. On top of that, a Gerudo man in black armour used his magic to seal the entrance with that bolder! Even if we get rid of the bolder, we would have the problem with the dodongos."

Joan's eyes narrowed toward the bolders at the mention of the Gerudo man. It was obviously Ganondorf and Joan had a pretty good idea that this was meant to be some sort of blackmail. If that was the case, the bolder may actually be a good thing for Joan because it meant Ganondorf doesn't have the Spiritual Stone of Fire yet.

"I'm very sorry to hear that." Joan told the Goron sincerely. "I'll talk to your leader and see what I can do."

"If you could help it would be very much appreciated." The Goron said before Joan said her goodbye and walked on the trail. As the Goron had said it really wasn't that much further ahead. They eventually arrived at an open wooden gate leading into a tunnel inside the mountain.

"'Land of the Gorons. Goron City'." Joan read the sign nearby. "Let's get going Navi."

"Alright."

The inside of Goron City had a very interesting structure in that it was built into the insides of the mountain, with different levels having been cut in. There were some paintings on the walls and the city was lit with lanterns giving an eerie yet comfortable glow. Joan saw that the Gorons could actually roll themselves into a ball and roll (a lesson learned when she had nearly been run over). But, there were some Gorons that were sitting on the ground, looking very hungry. If they weren't rock eaters Joan would have offered some of the food she had left but that didn't seem to be an option.

"Um, excuse me?" Joan asked one Goron. "I'm looking for the Goron Leader. Could you tell me where they are?"

"You mean Big Brother? He's shut himself in his room over there," The Goron explained as he pointed the way. "He said, 'I will wait in here for the Royal Family's messenger!' He took the shiny red stone that used to be displayed over the city. He said everyone was after it."

"Really now? So I'm guessing he's a pretty serious guy then." Joan commented, though she was a bit surprised when the Goron chuckled a little.

"Most of the time, but while he may not look it he really likes music and when he hears a beat he likes he can't help but dance."

"I see..."

"I remember that he really liked this song he heard. From a place called a 'forest' I think," The Goron recalled. Joan thought over this for a moment. She remembered that there had been a route that led from the Lost Woods to a mountain. At least that's what she was told. She actually tried to look in it out of curiosity one time but the way had been blocked by boulders and-

"So if you're looking for Big Brother, are you the messenger?" Joan returned her mind to the conversation once the Goron asked the question.

"Er... Sort of..." Joan felt it wasn't really a lie. And who knows? Maybe knowing the Royal Family sent a messenger would give some sort of comfort to them. She was a bit confused about the term, 'Big Brother'. But she assumed it was meant as a title like a King.

"As long as you have your way of proving it, you should have no trouble getting inside."

"R-right. Thank you." Joan felt a little nervous as she made her way towards the passageway. Maybe it was the fact she could only guess how this meeting went, or maybe it was the fact that all Joan had to prove her connection to the Royal Family was Zelda's Lullaby. If that didn't work, she didn't know what would. When Joan stood in front of the passage, she took out her ocarina and began playing the lullaby. Hopefully it wouldn't have the same effects as last time and blow up anything. That wouldn't make a very good first impression.

But the it seemed the lullaby was all she needed as the passageway opened up and Joan stepped inside, putting on a brave face.

The 'Big Brother' of the Gorons had been pacing in his room when Joan entered. He appeared a little bigger then some of the Gorons she had already seen and slightly more muscular. He also had some off-white hair around his hair like a spiky mane. But when he laid eyes on Joan he had a bitter scowl.

"What the heck! Who are you?!" He demanded. Joan took a silent breath before answering.

"M-my name's Joan and-"

"When I heard the song of the Royal Family, I expected their messenger had arrived, but...you're just a little girl!" He sounded really insulted and Joan was torn between... Actually she was just feeling insulted herself. Would some little girl be able to climb up to Goron City with only a fairy as a companion?

"Has Darunia, the big boss of the Gorons, really lost so much status to be treated like this by his Sworn Brother, the King?" The Goron named Darunia muttered bitterly. "Now, I'm REALLY angry!"

"Calm down for a sec! Why are you so angry?" Joan asked. She wasn't sure why she asked that of all questions. It was more of a slip really.

"Are you asking why I'm in such a bad mood?" He questioned quietly before he narrowed his eyes. "The Dodongo Cave has become infested with ancient creatures! We've had a bad harvest with flower bombs! And because of the rock shortage there is starvation and hunger!" Joan mentally face palmed herself for having asked the question in the first place. But she did decide she might as well try to help.

"If you like, I could help." Joan offered. Darunia looked at Joan as if she had just grown a second head.

"... If there wasn't such a serious crisis at the moment I would possibly be laughing right now."

"Hey! What's that suppose to mean?!" Joan snapped. "I climbed all the way up here from Kakariko and-"

"I'm not gonna waste any more of my time on a little girl, so get out of my face, now!" He demanded very loudly. Joan didn't however and kept her ground. Clenching her fists. She knew that her options right now were either leave or stay. Leaving itself was self-explanatory, but if she stayed it would be pretty much be a continuation of a glaring match she was now in with Darunia and trying to think of a plan fast before Darunia decided to force her out.

_'...He may not look it he really likes music... He really liked this song he heard. From a place called a 'forest'...'_

The memory of hearing of Darunia's love of music came to mind. The song in the forest? Could it be possible that the tunnel from the Lost Forest may in fact lead here, to Goron City? If so the chance of the song Darunia heard being in fact Saria's Song were pretty high. Better then nothing at the very least.

"I just have one last thing to do before I go." Joan said calmly as she took out her ocarina.

"Whatever it is, be quick! I don't have time to waste girl." Darunia grumbled. Joan put the ocarina to her lips and began playing Saria's Song. At first it didn't seem to work and Joan was about to stop playing. But then she heard a foot tapping, undoubtedly Darunia's. So Joan continued playing the song and made a mental note to thank Saria for teaching the song to her the next time she saw her as Darunia really started to get into his dancing. She did take a step or two back though as he started swinging his arms wildly. Eventually though he slowed his dance to a stop and laughed.

"What a nice tune! Just like that, my depression is all gone!" His laughter slowed to a stop. "I have to hand it to ya girl. It's not the same as the original one I heard but it's real close!"

"Thanks. I'll give Saria your thanks," Joan mumbled the last part under her breath as she put her ocarina away. "But anyway, there's something really important I need to ask you."

"Go ahead and ask."

"Well, the thing is... I kinda need the Spiritual Stone of Fire and the Gorons say you have it. I wouldn't ask for it unless it was important." Joan felt a little nervous about what his answer would be as he narrowed his eyes. If he said no what would she do? She doubted she could risk stealing it. She was tiny compared to them!

"You want the Spiritual Stone of Fire? The Goron Ruby? It's our race's hidden treasure and I don't plan to give it up that easily."

Well... At least he seemed willing to part with it... Sort of.

"Well is there anything I can do to earn it?" Joan asked. Darunia began to think and looked at Joan as he contemplated something.

"... You said you would be willing to help, yes?"

"Yeah." Joan nodded.

"Well then... If you want to prove you're not some kid, destroy the monsters in Dodongo's Cavern. Everyone will be happy, and you'll get the spiritual stone. Fair deal?"

"Sounds fair enough," Joan agreed. "Alright. I do it."

"Good to hear kid," Darunia nodded. "Now before you go, you may need this." Darunia handed a gold bracelet to Joan. "If you wear this even a little girl like you can pick up a bomb flower."

"Er, thanks. But, um... What exactly IS a bomb flower?" Joan asked as she put the bracelet on her right wrist.

"They're special plants that tend to grow in dark places, though there are some exceptions. Unless your an expert they tend to blow up a short time after being picked. We use them as raw material for bombs to sell." Darunia explained to Joan.

"Okay, gotcha. I'll go and see what I can do." Joan said before she turned to leave. The plan seemed simple enough, and she would be helping the Gorons even if she didn't get the stone so that would be something. Although if she didn't get the stone after this she would have to think of another way to get it. but Darunia did say he would give it so Joan was going to give him the benefit of the doubt and trust he would keep his word.

"So how do you plan to get in that cavern?" Navi questioned as she overlooked the boulder standing in the way as Joan stood on a cliff overlooking it. Joan looked at the boulder and then looked around her and spotted something.

"Hey, Navi. Look at this." Navi turned around and saw Joan pointing to a plant that looked like a green coloured bomb with plants. "I think this might be one of those bomb flowers Darunia mentioned. I think that could get us it."

"You think you can lift it?"

"Well... Let's see if this bracelet does as it's suppose to," Joan mumbled as she gripped the plant and began to tug on it. After two or three tugs she managed to pull it out and a hissing sound was immediately heard coming from it. But Joan was too amazed by what she had just done.

"Whoa! Navi, I'm pretty sure this thing is meant to be heavy but it feels more like carrying a stack of books right now! It's pretty awe-"

"It's a detonating bomb!" Navi yelled, her eyes wide as Joan got briefly carried away.

"Oh right! Sorry!" Joan quickly threw the bomb flower over the ledge and the pair looked over as it landed close to the boulder. A few seconds later, there was a loud cracking sound as the boulder broke up into rubble and faint smoke slowly dispersed.

"Okay, THAT was cool!" Joan laughed a little.

"Just remember, their not toys." Navi told her in a slightly stern voice. Joan playfully rolled her eyes.

"I know. But that doesn't mean I can't still enjoy it." Joan stepped onto the ledge and jumped onto the nearest rock and repeated the process until she was in front of the Dodongo's Cavern. Joan could already faintly feel heat radiating from the cavern and this made Joan think for a second. She had never had to deal with really intense heat. Except for maybe one or two summers that were hotter then normal. How would she fair inside the cave that was part of an active volcano?

But if she was to get the spiritual stone and save the Gorons, there wasn't really much time to think. Instead, Joan just walked on forward. Trying to mentally prepare herself for anything.


	8. Through the Dodongo's Cavern

The inside of the cavern was certainly an example of why the entire mountain was called 'Death Mountain'. In the main entry way of the templethere were pools of lava and and a giant skull at the other side of the chamber which Joan guessed was meant to be on of a dodongo. The heat was so intense Joan could have sworn she was seeing steam rise from the ground.

"Man... How do those Gorons managed to even come NEAR here?" Joan asked out loud as she surveyed the area.

"Maybe they're skin protects has something that protects them?" Navi guessed.

"I suppose." Joan then felt a little concerned for Navi. "Hey, will you be okay going through here? I don't know how the heat here would affect you, or your flying."

"I'll be fine. Fairies can adapt to their location most of the time." Navi answered.

"'Most of the time'? What's the exception?"

"I probably wouldn't be able to stay in water too long without damaging my wings. But what about you? Can you manage going through here?"

"... I'll manage," Joan answered simply. "Let's just see what this says." Joan looked over a stone slab in front of her with a message engraved.

_Giant dead dodongo. __When it sees red, _

_A new way to go __will be open._

"What do you think that means?" Joan questioned her fairy.

"I think we definitely need to get to that bridge over the skull's head. As for seeing red, there might be flower bombs up there that we're meant to drop into the eye sockets." Navi said. "I'm not sure though which tunnel would be the best way to go. If what the Gorons say is right, there's dodongos in this cavern. They might be small but I think the main problem will be the biggest of them. And if that's really a dodongo skull," Navi gestured towards the skull. "We could have some difficulty to put it lightly."

"Well, I managed to beat a giant spider thing in the Great Deku Tree, so I think I'll be okay."

"Don't start underestimating them, Joan. We don't know what their capable of." Navi lightly scolded.

"I-I won't. I'm just saying is all. Let's go through this tunnel."

Hoping over pools of lava was a little nerve-racking but the jump space weren't too far apart so that was some relief. Then there were the dodongos. Well, the baby dodongos that were like overgrown lizards and a bluish-green in colour . Personally, Joan thought they were cute. But despite that she still took down most of them that were in her way. It was sort of a shame from one perspective, but it was for the best if the Gorons were going to come to this cavern ever again.

Then, there were bigger ones. They were green except for their heads and front claws which were grey and seemed to be very similar to armour. They were more difficult to take care of but in the chamber Joan had found them in there were only three, and they were spaced apart so Joan was able to take them out one out of a time.

"Do ya... Do ya think we're close?" Joan panted as she sat down against the coolest wall she could find after taking out the last dodongo. The heat was really starting to get to her and was giving her a headache. She did have a water filled canteen, but some of it had been drunk on the way up Death Mountain and Joan didn't know how much longer they would be in this cavern for so she was almost afraid to drink too much. Nonetheless she had some and made sure Navi got her fair share as well.

"Hard to say really." Navi said but she was currently concerned about Joan. "Are you feeling okay?"

"Got a headache. But I'm fine." Joan insisted, though Navi wasn't so sure.

"You wouldn't be use to this kind of heat, or have too much of a way to keep the heat away. Maybe we should just turn back for your sake. I'm sure Darunia would understand."

"No. We have to get the Spiritual Stone of Fire if we're gonna keep Ganondorf from getting the Triforce." Joan stood up. She was sure she was okay. she wasn't dizzy or anything. "Besides, this will be the only time we'll ever have to come to a place like this. Let's just try to get it over with."

"Okay. But let me know if it gets worse." Navi told Joan.

"Yeah. Sure, I will." Joan narrowed her eyes a little. "But I ain't gonna let Darunia think I'm just some little girl! I'll show him. Come on. Let's see what's in the next chamber."

They continued on and Joan took down more dodongos. The biggest injury having been swept into a wall by one dodongo's tail. They did eventually stumble into a room with some chests filled with supplies. Possibly having been left behind by Gorons with the infestation began.

"Look around. There might be something useful in one of these chests." Navi was hovering over a couple boxes when Joan suddenly called from behind.

"Like these?" Navi turned around and saw Joan holding up a bomb in one hand. "They look a bit smaller then a ball," Joan commented as she threw it up in the air before catching it again. "I think I can fit some of them in my bag."

"If you think they'll help..."

"It can't hurt, can it? And they'd probably make that dodongo skull 'see red'"

"That's actually a pretty good idea." Navi agreed. "Let's keep going. The faster we get this done, the better."

There were more dodongos as they went through the chambers, along with bat-like creatures with fiery wings called fire keeses. But Joan manage to get by them with very little minimal damage roughly. Eventually making it to the wooden bridge over the giant, daunting skull.

"Okay, so I think I just have to tug at the fuse..." Joan, kneeling by the edge of the bridge side, gave a tug on one of the bomb fuses and a hissing sound was soon heard coming from it. "And then drop into the first socket. A few seconds after it dropped in it exploded and the eye began to glow an eerie red. Pleased with this result, Joan repeated with the next eye socket. As soon as the skull had the glowing eyes of a monster a child would see in their nightmares, it's jaw slowly began to creak open.

"Looks like that did the trick. Still think you can keep going?" Navi questioned the blonde haired girl. Joan gave a smile to Navi as she moved her legs over the ledge of the bridge.

"Sure. I'll be fine. Still got the headache but I'm kinda able to ignore it. Now come on. Lets see what's inside that skull!" Joan then pushed herself off and landed on the nose of the skull, and jumped to the ground before looking inside the jaw to see a passage way.

Joan made her way towards the passage, pausing only to take another drink of her water before entering inside. But there was nothing inside. Only a square chamber and felt even hotter in here then any of the other rooms.

"Why's it so hot in here? Are we close to lava or something?" Joan asked as she looked around. Only now did she notice that she was starting to sweat from the heat. She noticed Navi was flying closer to the ground and raised an eyebrow. "Is there something down there, Navi?"

"I think I hear something. Put one of those bombs around this area of ground!"

"Okay then." Joan lightly shrugged and took out a bomb and after a quick tug on the fuse placed it on the ground Navi was hovering over and the pair stepped away from the ground. After the explosion, the middle of the ground gave away and crumbled to the cavern below. Looking down inside, Joan could only make out ground and some lava. She licked her dry lips as she felt the heat from the lava rise up and sting her eyes slightly.

"Well... Let's jump." Joan mumbled as she sat down on the ledge and pushed herself off. The fall hurt her ankles a little but not enough to do any actual damage. Joan could really feel the heat from the lava which covered the entire middle of the room. For a moment, Joan felt a little light headed from it. But then the ground shuck as a large thump sound echoed out in the chamber. She spun around quickly and slowly backed away as she saw the creature in the pit.

It was a dodongo, but much larger then the others she had encountered. It looked like it couled have even been bigger then the original owner of the dodongo skull! If not then roughly around the same size. It's scales were a sort of dark purple colour with a yellow underbelly and tourquise eyes. It had a underbite fangs that stuck out of it's jaw and the dodongo opened it's mouth wide to roar loudly before it slowly made it's way towards Joan.

Joan turned and quickly ran ahead, trying to think of a plan. She couldn't lift her shield on either of her arms so it would be almost useless in defense here. She also doubted that she would be able to get close enough to use her sword without being struck back there was the lava to worry about as one wrong step could cause her fall into it. For a moment, Joan felt lucky that she was a faster runner then the giant dodongo was a crawler as it gave her a chance to easily avoid it's deadly ball of fire that it shot from it's mouth. But that thought was soon taken back when she learned that this dodongo at least had one thing in common with the Gorons. It could roll into a ball and roll just like them.

Joan sidestepped this roll easily though it meant standing even more dangerously close to the lava. The heat was really getting to Joan now as the light headed feeling really got to her but she forced herself to stand as she tried to think.

"Navi... What do you think would happen if I tried to throw one of the bombs in it's mouth?" Joan asked Navi some time later, once she noticed the pattern.

"I think it would only stun it temporally." Navi answered, staying close to Joan.

"Long enough for me to strike it a couple times?"

"I... I think so..."

"Then lets do that then..." Joan quickly took out a bomb from her satchel and slowly moved towards the dodongo as it crawled it's way towards her. Once it opened it's mouth to draw in breath to fire another ball of flames, Joan tugged on the bombs fuse and threw it with all her strength towards the dodongo's mouth. Inside it immediately blew on contact with the fire. While it didn't kill the dodongo it did seem to stun it and Joan quickly ran towards it and slashed at it's head a few times before it got up and began a roll.

This continued on a little more until finally, Joan gave the final blows to the pratical king of the dodongos. A finishing blow being in one eyes which caused it to give a loud shriek of agony as the blood and pain blinded the eye and in it's confusion it rolled up a final time and ended up rolling into the lava pit. It gave no more sounds as it slowly sunk into the lava that was also beginning to cool rapidly and changed inot solid, volcanic rock. Meanwhile the dodongo became charred black, as it managed to keep it's head on one claw up before the lava solidified.

Joan starred at the sight. Some of the dodongo's blood and jelly-like liquid of the eyeball was still on her sword though it was all slowly dripping off. Joan's heart was still beating rapidly as she gave shallow breaths. After a moment of silence, Joan chuckled.

"Hehe... D-did it..." While the chamber was beginning to cool since the lava was now solid, the heat had finally gotten to Joan and she fell to her knees and collapsed to the ground before passing out.

It seemed like seconds later when cold water was dropped on Joan's face. She sat up with a loud gasp of shock and blinked the water away from her eyes as she looked around frantically. She saw she was outside the cavern and that it was late evening.

"Joan! Thank Goddesses you're alright!" Joan nearly flinched as she felt Navi hit into her forehead and did what felt like a hug.

"Good to see you're alright, kid." Joan looked to her left and surprisingly saw a smiling Darunia drop her water canteen next to her. "You were gone for a while so I figured I should check you were still around and saw you passed out from heat exhaustion so I brought you back out and since you still had water in your canteen I figured I'd dump the water left on you."

"Oh, well... Thank you, very much." Joan said after clearing her throat and grabbing her canteen. She had only stood up when Darunia laughed loudly and patted her head. However since Gorons were stronger and bigger then Joan, the pat on her head knocked her back to the ground though Darunia didn't seem to notice as Joan got back up.

"It's you that should be thanked! Thanks to you, we can once again eat the delicious rocks from the Dodongo's Cavern until our stomachs burst! What a wild adventure! It will make an incredible story... I can't believe that the Dodongos suddenly appeared in such great numbers! And that big rock blocking the cave..." The laughter in his voice slowly left and his smile became a scowl.

"All this trouble must have been caused by that Gerudo thief, Ganondorf! He said, 'Give me the Spiritual Stone! Only then will I open the cave for you!'"

Joan clenched her fists together. As she expected, Ganondorf had indeed been behind the problem. If he was willing to cause a famine for an entire race, Joan couldn't tell what was more terrifying. Ganondorf's methods to get what he wanted, or the possible state Hyrule would be in if he got his hands on the Triforce. Darunia then pointed to Joan herself.

"You, on the other hand, risked your life for us." The smile he had on previously returned. "Kid, I like you! How's about you and I become Sworn Kin?!"

"'Sworn Kin'?" Joan wasn't exactly sure what he meant by that. But it seemed obvious that it was an honour. "Er, sure... Is there a ceremony we have to do?" Joan asked.

"No, there's no big ceremony involved! Just take this as a token of our friendship!" Joan felt her heart leap once Darunia held out the Spiritual Stone of Fire. It was the fruit of her labour throughout the Dodongo's Cavern. Joan thankfully accepted the stone and bowed her head.

"Thank you so much for this."

"It's no problem." Darunia waved it off. "Just make sure you keep brushing up on your skills on your travels, Sister. You did a fine job on that dodongo. You should also see the Great Fairy at the top of Death Mountain. She might give you some extra power. But first... Everybody! Let's see off our Sister!"

Two more Gorons dropped down on either side of Darunia and held their arms out.

"You did great! How 'bout a big Goron hug, Sister?!"

Joan would have run away, but she figured that since these two Gorons weren't as big as Darunia or as strong looking, a hug couldn't really hurt.

Right?

"Sure, why not." Joan agreed as she held her arms out.

As Joan walked up the the mountain top to meet this Great Fairy, she felt some regret about agreeing to the hugs. While they were probably nothing compared to what Darunia could give, she did have great difficulty getting air into her lungs and could barely move during each hug. The thought that maybe she should have run away did cross her mind as she walked on. But there was a slim chance that could have been seen as an insult. Whether her mind was over reacting or not, Joan felt it was possibly a good thing to have let the Gorons hug her. Even if it did literally knock the breath out of her.

"Are you sure you're fine?" Navi asked Joan after Joan had managed to get past a part of the trail that seemed very volcanic as hot rock fell to the ground every few minutes.

"Y-yeah," Joan said. "Just a little tired is all. Let's just see this Great Fairy, and afterwards we'll go back down to Kakariko and worry about where to spend the night there."

Joan was actually excited to see this Great Fairy, and tried to imagine what she would look like. With the word 'great' involved, she guessed the fairy might be bigger then average. Joan then tried to imagine a big Navi. Just a ginat man-sized glowing blue orb with giant, fluttering white wings. It made her snicker a little actually.

"What's so funny?"

"Oh, nothing." Joan answered Navi. "Nothing you would find too interesting."

"Okay then." Navi stopped as she looked at an entrance way next to the entrance to the volcano's crater. "Well, this looks like it's it. Ready?"

"You know it." Joan nodded before stepping inside.

The chamber containing the Great Fairy's Fountain was perhaps one of the most beautiful places Joan had ever seen. The walls had a water streaming down them like a waterfall along with small lights which all entered into pools of water which covered the entire ground except for the pathway that led all the way to the fountain at the end of the chamber. It reminded Joan of the night sky with a meteor shower.

Seeing the Triforce symbol before the fountain, Joan immediately pulled out her ocarina and began playing the lullaby, excited to see what this Great Fairy was like. She was sure she had heard one of the Gorons mention that she was beautiful. As she finished, she froze when she heard shrill laughter. Shortly after the Great Fairy herself rose from the fountain and hovered above it while looking down on Joan with a smile.

Joan immediately thought the word 'beautiful' was a bit of a stretch for the Great Fairy. She wasn't 'ugly' or 'bad' looking in her opinion, definitely. But Joan did question why she was wearing only ivy around her body and a pair of leather boots. Her hair was a very bright shade of pink and tied into three pigtails and wore red eye shadow and lipstick. Strangely enough though, for a fairy she didn't have wings. Though that may have been because of who she was.

"Welcome Joan! I am the Great Fairy of Power!" The Great Fairy announced herself. At least her voice sounded nice. She sounded kinda mischievous. "I'm going to grant you a magical ability. The power of Din's Fire! Receive it now!"

The Great Fairy raised her hands and Joan felt a strange feeling in her hands. It almost felt like her hands were on fire yet they didn't hurt. The feeling soon faded and Joan flexed her fingers while looking at them. The fairy giggled and Joan felt some appreciation that her giggling was more bearable then her laughter.

"With this ability, you'll be able to burn your foes and objects. And remember! You're always welcome here~" With that she gave one last shrill laugh before returning to her fountain.

When Joan and Navi finally left the Fairy Fountain, it was almost night time. The cooler air made Joan feel good as she and Navi began their decent back down to Kakariko. The headache she had suffered from seemed almost like it was never there at this stage. Today was a good day in general. She now had both spiritual stones and would hopefully collect the last one tomorrow. She made the Dodongo's Cavern available to the Gorons once more, and there was the fact that she actually sort of made friends with Darunia and was considered a Sworn Kin.

"Joan... You did good today," Navi told her. "Not everybody would be willing to stand up to a dodongo that size. Especially when scared. But you really showed true courage." Joan smiled to Navi.

"Thanks, Navi... That means a lot."

* * *

**Just to save people asking the question, I choose to make it 'Sworn Kin' because it sounded better then 'Sworn Siblings' in my opinion, and it just seemed wrong to say Joan was a 'Sworn Brother'.**


	9. The Zoras Domain

When Joan had returned to Kakariko, she had managed to to convince a nice lady to let her stay the night in her home in exchange for helping with her cuccos the next morning, which Joan felt was a pretty fair deal and thought it simple enough. Though she wasn't sure why the lady told her a couple times to not hurt them. The first two times, Joan figured she was just being protective of her animals. But it almost like she was warning Joan for her own health rather then the cuccos. After she had helped with feeding them and getting a few supplies, Joan finally left Kakariko village with Navi to go to the Zora's Domain.

Remembering that Princess Zelda said that the Zora's Domain was the source of the river near Castle Town, Joan followed the river down a small . Dodging some attacks by octorok, which were like light purple octopuses but with shorter legs. While the weater was warm it was nothing compared to the heat in Dodongo's Cavern and the sound of the rushing water was calming.

After walking up a few ledges, Joan found herself on one ledge that bridge to a mountain side, in front of a waterfall.

"The Royal Family's symbol is down there." Navi told Joan as she gestured to the slab in the ground. There was a message engraved under the Triforce symbol and Joan's read it out loud.

_Sleepless Waterfall_

_The flow of this waterfall serves the King of Hyrule. _

_When the King_ _slumbers, so too do these falls._

"Guess you need to play the song and see what happens." Navi said. Joan nodded and took out her ocarina and began playing the lullaby. As soon as she played the last note, the water began to part in the center like opening curtains and ahead of Joan behind the falls was a tunnel leading inside. Without second thought, Joan jumped across to the tunnel and walked inside slowly. There wasn't much light though Navi's glow did help a little.

At the end of the tunnel was a water filled cave. The light reflecting off the water shimmered across the rocky walls as stalactites, stalagmites and rocky pillars decorated the area. There was a big water fall at the other side of the cavern that echoed out loudly along with splashes of swimming from the water by the race Joan assumed to be the Zoras. They were humanoid with light blue skin with fins attached to their sides and arms and webbed feet. From what Joan could tell, the males had a sort of tail extending from their head while the females had wide heads.

Joan would have admired the beautiful cave for a few minutes longer but duty called and she continued on her way to try and find the Zora King. Luckily though there were signs up which were of help. True, Joan couldn't help but question why exactly there would be signs up. There weren't any up in Goron City. But Joan decided it wasn't anything worth questioning since either way she was going to find the King. They found the entrance way though there were two Zora guards outside.

"Um, hi there? Um, I kinda need to talk to the King about something important." Joan could only hope that the guard's would be willing to let her through.

"Are you a messenger from the Royal Family?" One questioned and Joan nodded.

"Yeah. I need to talk to him about something important, like I said." It seemed the guards were reasonable so maybe they would be willing to let her speak to their King."

"We would let you... But the thing is that he's going through a bit of a depression at the moment." One of them explained before the other continued.

"His daughter, Princess Ruto, has gone missing. Some of us are still looking for her though there has been no luck so far. We've searched all the waters from here to Lake Hylia."

"Oh... Alright..." Joan frowned in disappointment but thought for a moment. Maybe if she found his daughter he would talk to her, and give her the spiritual stone. It didn't seem too far fetched and it sounded realistic enough in her opinion. Then again where exactly would she find the Princess?

"Well, if you're lucky the Princess might show up today. She does sometimes have a habit of dissapearing," One guard admitted. "The King would probably speak to you then. If you like, you're welcome to swim in the water until then."

A nice swim did sound appealing in Joan's mind. It was definitely something she needed after the events inside Dodongo's Cavern.

"So you're sure you're okay with just minding my satchel?" Joan asked Navi as she took off her boots by the water edge. She already had her satchel laying on the ground and Navi was sitting on it.

"Sure, I don't mind. I think I'll just lay here and relax. Been a while since I could."

"Since I came into your life?" Joan teased as she removed her hair ribbon and let her short hair drop to her chin. It was just going to be a swim so she didn't really need her hair to be kept back. Navi lightly chuckled as she laid across on the satchel.

"Just enjoy you're swim, dear."

"Sure, 'mum'."

"Guardian fairy." Navi corrected before Joan dived into the water and enjoyed the feeling of cold water against her face. She couldn't really remember the last time she went for a swim, but it was good to do it again, and it was fun to dive under the water. She actually swam with some of the Zora children and remembered the happy times she and Saria and some of the other Kokiri swam in the waters back in the forest.

Joan spotted a tunnel with the inscription, 'Lake Hylia' over it. She remembered that one of the guards outside the King's chamber mentioned this place and decided to swim through so took a deep breath and dived under the water and went through the hole. It was a little difficult since she couldn't stay down in the water but once in the tunnel she was able to do a mixture of pulling and swimming through until she came out through the other end and emerged to the surface.

Lake Hylia had to have been the biggest lake ever in Joan's opinion and the water here felt warmer compared to the Zora's Domain from the sun shining directly down on it. Joan laid back in the water and lightly kicked her legs as she smiled and let her thoughts wonder. One of them was a certain thought that had actually been gnawing at the back of her head since she left the forest. Growing up, she was always told that Kokiri died if they left the forest. But yet here she was, a few days later and relaxing in Lake Hylia. Perhaps the Deku Tree had been wrong when he said the Kokiri would die? Maybe he had a different deffinition of death? Or perhaps he was simply being over-protective? They all seemed likely.

Joan raised one hand to touch her pointed ears. They were pointy just like Saria's, and Mido's, and the rest of the Kokiri. So surely there was nothing different about her. She had her fairy so there was nothing wrong with her at all, right? Feeling something tap against her head, Joan turned around and found a clear glass jar that had a sheet of paper in it. Joan remembered she had heard stories of glass bottles having a map inside leading to treasure. Maybe this would be something like that?

Joan took the jar and unscrewed the top before pulling out the paper. There was no map but a message was written on it.

_Help me. I'm waiting for you inside Lord Jabu-Jabu's belly._  
_- Ruto_  
_ PS: Don't tell my father!_

"'Ruto'?" Joan repeated with furrowed eyebrows before she went wide eyed as she remembered that was the name of the missing princess! Quickly putting the note inside the jar to keep it dry, Joan then quickly swam towards the tunnel she came from.

Once she returned to the Zora's Domain, she quickly swam to the land she left Navi and her satchel.

"Navi, we gotta go!"

"Wh-why?" Navi asked, sounding a little drowsy as she fluttered up while Joan tied her hair back into it's stubby ponytail and thrusted her boots on. It appeared that she had been napping during Joan's little swim.

"I found a message from Princess Ruto! We gotta show it to the guards!" Was all Joan said before she quickly rushed to the guards outside the King's chamber. The water now filling her boots squelching as she moved.

"I'm sorry but the King-"

"I found this letter and I think you should look at it!" Joan quickly took out the letter and handed it to one of the guards. He read it over and looked concerned.

"This is a bit odd. This is definitely her handwriting though I'm not sure why she would be writing this. She's been inside Lord Jabu-Jabu plenty of times!"

"Um... Sorry, but who is, 'Lord Jabu-Jabu'?" Joan asked tentatively.

"He is our deity. It's Princess Ruto's duty to prepare his meals morning and night." He explained. "But either way we should show this to the King."

"I could do it." Joan quickly offered. "I needed to do it anyway, and I could go rescue her even."

"You?" The guard seemed sceptical about the offer.

"I could do it." Joan insisted.

"... We'll let the King decide that. But you may speak to him." The guards stepped aside and opened the passage way to let Joan in.

The Zora King was much bigger then the rest of the Zoras, and much more rounded. He also wore a golden crown with a ruby gem in it and red cape lined in gold. His throne was a small water fall and he seemed to be blocking an entrance. He looked to Joan and seemed hopeful as he asked the question that Joan had expected.

"Do you know where my dear, sweet Princess Ruto is?"

"Actually sir, I found a letter from her and showed it to your guards." Joan began. "They said it's definitely your daughter's handwriting and it says she's inside Lord Jabu-Jabu."

"Lord Jabu-Jabu, would never eat my dear Princess Ruto!" He then calmed down from his moment of rage and thought about what Joan said. "But since that stranger, Ganondorf, came here, Lord Jabu-Jabu has been a little green around the gills... If the guards are sure the letter is from my daughter, the evidence seems clear."

Of course Ganondorf would do it. It wasn't too surprising really when Joan thought about it.

"Sir, if you like, I'll go find her for you." Joan offered.

"You can pass through here to the altar of Lord Jabu-Jabu in the Zora Fountain." He said, agreeing quickly. "Please find my dear Princess Ruto immediately. Do so, and we'll reward you for your efforts ... Zora!"

The King began to scoot across from where he was sitting. Very slowly. Very, very, slowly. When he finally scooted to the other side, Joan made her way up a ledge to get through the passage and into the Zora's Fountain.

The Zora's Fountain was a large lake that seemed smaller compared to Lake Hylia. But Lord Jabu-Jabu was definitely a large creature. It was whale like with a gold ornament on top of it's head and face. It didn't seem too harmful. Maybe even benign. Though the size of it did make Joan feel like she could be a snack for it if she wasn't careful.

"So that's Lord Jabu-Jabu? He's not exactly what I had in mind but he's impressive." Navi said as she observed the giant fish.

"Yeah. But how do we get, you know. Inside him?" Joan asked the fairy as she stepped near the alter.

"... Maybe if we try to feed him, we can get inside?" Navi suggested. Joan thought this over and it sounded reasonable enough. They would just have to find a fish or two. Luckily, there were some swimming nearby. Without hesitating, Joan grabbed the fish from the water and walked up to the alter.

"C'mon fishy... Here's some nice fish for ya... Just let us go get the Princess you swallowed and it's all yours." Joan coaxed. She dropped the fish onto the ground and waited. Eventually, Lord Jabu-Jabu opened his mouth wide and began to inhale. Joan was a bit confused by this until she noticed that the strength of the inhaled breath was pulling her inside along with the fish.

Cringing a little, Joan let her body go slightly limp enough to get immediately sucked in so she could save the princess.

* * *

**I have decided to remove certain reviews from this story and that all guest reviews will be moderated from now on, due to reviews that were neither helpful in improving the story and were just filled with hate even though they could have simply avoided this story altogether.**


	10. Inside Lord Jabu-Jabu

If Joan were to be asked where she would rather be: Dodongo's Cavern or inside Lord Jabu-Jabu, she would have honestly had a great difficulty choosing. On one hand in Dodongo's Cavern, there was the infestation of dodongos of various sizes and some of which actually had a tendency to breath fire, not to mention she seemed to to easily suffer from heat exhaustion in such an area considering it had pools of lava. But the inside of Lord Jabu-Jabu...

Joan knew it wasn't going to be pleasant. Being inside a living being. She could sort of put up with the gross squishy looking walls and the and the fact she could feel the ground through her boots. The sight of some of the bodily fluid so far was bearable at least. But dear Farore, the smell! It was just horrendous! She didn't care if it was something to be expected, it was plain awful! The fact that this giant fish was eating fish possibly made this place the most horrible smelling place in existence!

Maybe when she and Zelda stopped Ganondorf and ended his plans, thy would be able to convince the adults to tie him up and leave him in here! Though the Zoras probably wouldn't like the idea of their deity being used as a prison. A prison for Ganondorf non the less.

Despite all her negative feelings towards this part of her adventure, Joan walked on through the body of Lord Jabu-Jabu. The boomerang she had bought back in Castle Town finally got it's time to shine when she used it to knock out two jellyfish-like creatures that had tried to sting her, which was important since their sting was actually very electric.

"So what do you think this princess will be like?" Joan asked Navi as she took out the last jellyfish. The only princess she had ever known was Princess Zelda obviously, so a part of her thought the princess would at least be nice. Then again in that letter she had written it was kinda hard to tell really.

"I don't know, but I think it would be safe to try and not expect anything." Navi suggested and she had a valid point. All Joan could hope for was that they would find Princess Ruto as quickly as possible and that she was not in any danger.

After passing through another passage they were in a chamber that was more void if jellyfish, and had a few holes in the ground. But that was not what Joan was interested in. For in the chamber was the Zora Princess herself! She was only a child like Joan and assumably around the same age. She looked like the other female Zoras Joan had seen but with smaller fins. Joan wasn't sure what expression she had expected the young princess to have, but it was definitely not one that looked like a mixture of upset and displeasure. Joan had made her way towards the princess when she immediately spoke.

"You! Who are you?!" Ruto demanded. The tone was a bit harsh and surprised Joan a bit actually but decided to answer anyway.

"I'm Joan and you-"

"I am Ruto, Princess of the Zoras." The way she said it made it seem like she wanted show she was more important then Joan and it irked the girl a bit, but she wanted to keep her cool... For now.

"Yes, I know who you are," Joan said calmly. "You're father sent me here to rescue you-"

"What?! My father asked you to come and save me?" While she did sound shocked, she did speak gently about her father. But that was quickly done away with when she added, "I'd never ask anyone to do such a thing!"

"Really?" Joan questioned with a raised eyebrow. "Because I found a letter with your name on it asking for help, and the guards outside your father's throne room confirmed it was your handwriting."

"I have no idea what you're talking about!" Ruto said quickly. It was clear that she was too proud for her own good.

"Look. The fact of the matter is that I found the letter. It was confirmed to be done by your hand. And your father is worried sick to the point of depression." Joan stated cooly, trying to reason with her.

"I-I don't care! And I can't go home now anyway!"

"... What?" Joan wasn't sure she heard right. Ruto... Ruto couldn't have been serious.

"You can just go home! Get out of here! Understand girly-boy!" The princess turned her back on Joan and walked ahead without actually looking ahead of herself which resulted in her falling into one of the holes with a shriek of shock. Joan was taken back by the 'girly-boy' remark. What was that suppose to mean? Still, she had to rescue the princess. Even if she was rude. So Joan jumped in a few seconds after. Luckily there was still ground where both Joan and Ruto dropped onto, though Ruto looked still upset by Joan's tenacity.

"Are you still hanging around here?" Ruto questioned Joan like there was something wrong with her. "I thought I told you to go away!"

"You expect to be left alone inside Lord Jabu-Jabu?!" Joan wasn't sure how she kept this question from being shouted.

"I'm okay!" Ruto insisted. "I've been going inside Lord Jabu-Jabu's belly since I was little..." Ruto began to trail off and speak in a less condescending voice. "Lord Jabu-Jabu is very strange today. There are electrified jellyfish and strange holes and my mother's precious stone..." But then Ruto returned to her spoiled attitude. " Bu-But that's none of your business anyway! You! Go home now! Understand?!" Joan bit her tongue to resist gritting her teeth into nothing before she spoke.

"Look. Princess Ruto. I am not leaving Lord Jabu-Jabu unless you are with me. Safe and sound. I don't care what I have to do to get you out, but your father is worried." Ruto looked surprised with Joan's words and Joan felt like she made a breakthrough!

"You're... That worried about me?" The princess sounded surprised, like she wasn't expected Joan to continue to stay despite her demands. "Alright then."

Joan almost felt like smiling.

"Then I will give you the honour of carrying me!"

But it dropped into a frown as Ruto sat down.

"And I won't leave until I find the thing I'm looking for!"

"... I'm sorry, but what?" Joan asked, clenching and unclenching her fists repeatedly. If Zoras had eyebrows, Ruto would have raised one towards Joan.

"Carry me. It should be considered an honour-"

"Not happening." Joan stated bluntly as she narrowed her eyes. Ruto however looked insulted.

"Excuse me?!"

"I'm. Not. Carrying. You." Joan repeated slowly as she folded her arms. If this princess though she was going to push her around she had another thing coming.

"How, dare you! I'm the Princess of the Zoras and-" But Joan cut the 'precious' princess off.

"Do you really think that I'm just going to carry you? Well guess again, 'princess'. I am not just going to do what you say just because of your title. You're going to walk. I'll help you over ledges and crossing over things but that's it."

"Then I'm staying here!" The princess huffed and folded her arms. Joan however felt she could win this.

"Here? Princess, you ended up falling down here just because you turned around and walked. Then of course there are these creatures lurking around here we must think about. I'm guessing you've had no actual practice in self-defense because I heard no mention of it, which means that you are pretty vulnerable without me. I on the other hand have a sword and smaller weapon and a shield, which means while I couldn't carry you I can still keep us safe." Said princess looked livid as Joan said all of this but Joan actually felt strangely happy. Thankfully despite her reluctance, Ruto stood backup.

"Fine! Let's move." She muttered bitterly as she folded her arms. Joan couldn't help but feel a bit smug as she walked ahead with Ruto by her side.

"You better know what you're doing, boy!" she spat and Joan stopped and looked at her funny. "What?" She demanded.

"... I'm a girl." Joan deadpanned. Ruto looked at her, looking very surprised before she looked closely.

"Oh. You're right. I just thought you were a very effeminate boy." She said simply before she continued on. Joan, taken aback by this, stood where she was.

"... I don't look like an effeminate boy," Joan mumbled though look down at herself before looking to Navi. "D-do I?"

"No, of course not!" Navi assured quickly. "She's... She's just being mean!"

"Right! I'm just being silly." Joan said. She felt a bit ridiculous to let Ruto's words get to her and ran after the princess.

Joan never thought she would meet anyone more annoying then Mido, but as Ruto blabbered on and on, it seemed pretty close. All Ruto did during their trip back up to where they first met was grumble and complain. It was a very big contrast when comparing her to Zelda. Joan felt it would have been a safe bet to say that at least Zelda wouldn't complain if she was in Ruto's place!

"There's still no sign of my possession, girly-boy." Ruto mumbled as she surveyed a chamber after Joan had taken out the last of the jellyfish. Joan just mumbled a few insults silently under her breath. "Well, let's keep going!"

"So what is your 'possession?'?" Joan questioned as they left the room. Maybe if she could have some control in conversation she wouldn't have to listen to nothing but blabbering about stupid stuff. At least she thought it was. Joan was able to tune most of it out though not nearly enough.

"It's none of your business!" Ruto huffed indignantly. Joan sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Look. We'd find this thing faster if I at least knew what it was. So can you at least describe it?"

"Well, if you really need to know it's the Zora's Sapphire. It has blue stones and that's all you need to know." Ruto didn't notice it but Joan felt a little pale. If the Zora's Sapphire was the Spiritual Stone of Water like she thought it was, how the heck was she going to get it from this spoiled girl?! Joan couldn't deny that the thought of perhaps stealing it and not saying she found it did come to mind, but her sense of justice was too strong to let her do that.

In the next chamber, Joan was surprised when she heard Ruto squeal as she pointed up towards a platform. Joan could make out three sapphire circles connected by gold.

"That's it! That's what I've been looking for! Get me up there! Onto the platform!" Joan rolled her eyes and knelt down and let Ruto step on her back to get onto the platform.

"Oh my goodness! I finally found my mother's stone." Ruto said as she picked up the stone. "I was so surprised that he swallowed me while I was feeding him that I dropped it inside. But, now that I've found it, I don't need to be in here anymore! So, take me home, right now!" She demanded. Joan just mumbled as went towards the platform but suddenly there was a small tremor and the platform rised upwards with Ruto who shrieked in surprise.

"Oh, come on!" Joan groaned. The platform then came back down and Joan was prepared to jump back onto it until she saw an octorok on it that looked bigger then the ones she had seen and actually made her think of some sort of shellfish. But once it jumped off the platform it made it's way towards Joan who backed away and took out her boomerang and swung it towards the creature. It seemed to stun it temporally which gave Joan some time to think until it spun around and turned the other way. But Joan noticed some sort of green spot on it's back before it closed up. Maybe that was a weak spot that only opened when it was stunned?

Joan tried it and seeing she was right she attacked the spot with her sword. It worked and Joan repeated with the process. It was a bit tricky since a few times the octorok would not spin away from Joan and just continue to come towards her, but Joan would quick stun it again with her boomerang. Eventually though, Joan finally managed to finish it.

"Now let's just hope Ruto isn't in too much trouble." Joan mumbled as she stepped onto the platform and went up. Unfortunately Ruto wasn't here so Joan ran quickly down one 'hallway'. She went down a passage way that she knew neither her or Ruto had went down and found herself in a chamber with some sort of parasite that protected the base of it's body with jellyfish. Joan quickly dodged rolled out of the way of electrical shocks and backed away as she gripped her sword in her hand.

"Navi, any ideas?"

"Wait until the jellyfish are away, then attack the base!"

"Gotch-AGH!" Joan fell down and clutched her right leg. One of the electric currents had shocked her leg below the knee which had painful tingles before going numb.

"Navi, my leg's numb! Is it- is it permanent?!" Joan asked, a little scared of that possibility.

"No, you'll be fine." Naiv assured her. "It'll ware off after some time."

"R-right." Joan murmured as she forced herself up and took out her boomerang. With the jellyfish off the base, Joan threw the boomerang towards it and it seemed to stun it as the jellyfish stayed hovering in the spots they were. Joan ran towards the base and slashed at one of the electric jellyfish before slashing a few times at the base of the parasite.

This process continued until all the jellyfish were gone, but the fight wasn't over. The parasite had a new layer of jellyfish and it began moving around the room, attempting to come dangerously close to Joan as the jellyfish spun around it. Connected by electricity and moving like a merry-go-round. But like before Joan was able to get her boomerang to get past the jellyfish and began to fight the same way as before.

With all the jellyfish gone, the parasite had no defense. Though it was still dangerous as it spun around until Joan stunned and attacked again. Dodging electric attacks with a little difficulty as her right leg was still numb and unfeeling.

Finally though, Joan dealt the final blow. The parasite began to bulge all over before it broke apart with disgusting pink parts of it falling to the ground in a puddle of green goo. The same kind that was dripping from Joan's sword.

Joan sighed in relief and put her sword away. It felt like the final monster here. She just knew. How much worse could it get here?

"Joan?" Joan turned around and saw Ruto come out of hiding. But Joan was more surprised that for the first time since they met, Ruto actually used her name.

"Are you okay?" Joan asked Ruto as she walked up to her. Her right leg still limping a bit.

"You...You're late! What took you so long! You're useless!" Joan noticed that while she looked angry, Ruto was actually blushing a bit and grinned a little.

"You glad I came to save you?"

"Shut up!"

"Aw, you missed me~" Joan continued to tease

"I was just lonely, that's all... Just a little!" Ruto admitted. "Let's just get out of here!"

"Sure. Let's go." Joan agreed. Both girls made they way through the passageways until they made it back to the mouth of Lord Jabu-Jabu.

"Sooo... How do we get out?" Joan asked as they stepped onto his tongue." Ruto rolled her eyes as Lord Jabu-Jabu's mouth began to open.

"Lord Jabu-Jabu knows to open his mouth when someone's inside. They just have to walk near the mouth."

"Yes, because everyone would know that." Joan mumbled quietly under her breath before she stepped over the whale-like creature's pointy teeth. It was funny in a way. In the time spent inside Lord Jabu-Jabu, Joan had gotten pretty used to the smell of fish organs that she hadn't really noticed it until she stepped into the clear evening air. "Finally, fresh air!" Joan sighed as enjoyed the breeze.

She took off her satchel and dropped it on the alter before she stepped into the shallow end of the water. Wanting to enjoy the moment. She survived the day and hopefully she would be able to convince King Zora to give her the Spiritual Stone of Water. She wasn't sure how she'd convince Ruto but she'd find a way. If so, she would have all three spiritual stones and with Zelda would get the Triforce before Ganondorf.

Joan heard some movement in the water behind her, and thought it was obviously Ruto. It sounded like she was trying to sneak up behind Joan but why...? Joan smiled and waited for the right moment. It was when there movement turned into a small splashing sound that she stepped to the side and let Ruto fall into the deeper water.

"Nice try, princess." Joan chuckled. "But it's going to take more then that to shove me into the water." Ruto scowled a little and Joan offered a hand to her to help her out. The princess stared before smirking and grabbed Joan's arm before pulling her into the water with her. Joan emerged to the surface with a small gasp and the girls looked at each other before laughing.

"You know, you actually looked cool...cooler than I thought you would, anyway... Just a little!" Ruto added quickly before clearing her throat. "Well, anyway, you saved me, so I guess I'll reward you. What do you wish? Just tell me."

Joan bit her lip. She could only hope the princess would agree.

"Well, Ruto. That stone you have, the Spiritual Stone of Water... I kinda need it. It's for something very important and I can't do it without it."

"Hmm..." Ruto looked a bit hesitant. "My mother gave it to me and said I should give it only to the man who will be my husband. You might call it the Zora's Engagement Ring!"

Joan had no clue what an engagement ring was, and planned to ask Navi as soon as possible. It sounded kinda weird.

"But you did... save me, and if you really need it like you say you do then alright!" Ruto agreed before she held the tone up to Joan. "I'll give you the Zora's Sapphire!" Joan grinned as she accepted it.

"Thanks, princess. This really means a lot."

"Just don't go breaking it, girly-boy!" Joan chuckled a little and nodded. Looking happy enough that Joan would keep the stone safe, Ruto then swam back to shore to go to her father.

"We did it Navi," Joan declared as she swam up to shore. "We found all the stones!"

"All we have to do now is go to Princess Zelda and we'll keep the Triforce safe from Ganondorf!" Navi said, just as happy as Joan. "but we better hurry. It's already evening and it's a bit of a walk form here to Castle Town, not to mention the drawbridge will be up for the night."

"Then lets go!" Joan told Navi before she quickly left the domain of the Zoras and once she jumped out of the passage way behind the waterfall, she began to run as her leg was becoming less numb. Joan felt that she had done it as her heart beated rapidly. She didn't plan to stop until she had broken into the castle grounds again and met up with Princess Zelda. Determined to have nothing stop her.


	11. The Temple of Time

The evening sky slowly gave way to night as Joan ran. Her legs became sore from tiredness as she had the town walls in her line of sight, but she forced her legs to move regardless of that. The ominous, dark grey clouds that were appearing in the sky gave signs that a storm was coming and Joan pushed herself to run faster in hopes of making it to Castle Town before they pulled up the drawbridge. Otherwise she would be stuck outside and unless she thought of a way to sneak in, she would be stuck in the rain.

"Oh no, the drawbridge!" Joan didn't respond to Navi and just looked said drawbridge which was now up. A sinking feeling was now in her stomach as she knew there may be no other way inside. It probably wouldn't be too bad waiting outside until morning, but with the sound of clashing thunder and flashes of lightning it wasn't something Joan was too excited about. Especially once it started raining. Joan instantly regretted having not bought something like a cloak.

Glancing away from the drawbridge, Joan looked at the route to Kakariko. It wouldn't have been too far away, and Joan was able to get accomodation there the night before. Maybe she would be lucky a second time?

But then the sound of grinding gears and moving chains caught Joan's attention and she saw the drawbridge was being let down. Perfect! She would just get across quickly before it would be brought back up.

But the neighing of a horse along with it's galloping hooves made Joan step to the side quickly as the white stallion ran past. Joan was surprised to see that Impa and Princess Zelda on the horse. Joan felt a sudden chill when she realized that something must have happened. Something very bad.

"Zelda?" Joan called, hoping she could get at least some sort of information.

"Joan!" Joan could faintly hear Zelda yell her name before she saw her throw something towards her. However it went over Joan's head and splashed into the moat behind her. Joan squinted as she attempted to see through the now murky looking water, before looking back in the direction that Impa and Zelda had gone. Now nowhere to be seen.

A new set of hooves was heard and Joan looked back towards the direction of the drawbridge and instantly felt a sickly feeling as she saw the cause of this sudden flight of the princess. Ganondorf sat on a black horse that hard dark armour on it just like his, and even had a similar coloured mane to his hair. Joan felt like she should just run past him while she had the chance, but she felt nailed to the spot.

"I lost her." Ganondorf growled in frustration. He then noticed Joan and a sickly-sweet smile came to his face.

"You, over there! Little kid!" Ganondorf demanded. "You must have seen the white horse gallop past just now. Which way did it go?! Answer me!"

Joan swallowed as she quickly thought over her options. She could just easily point him in the wrong direction, and hope to buy Zelda and Impa time. But what if somehow the wrong direction would still lead him to them, or what if he would hurt innocent bystanders? Despite knowing it would not likely end well, Joan drew her sword from it's sheath and held it tightly. Ganondorf only gave a dark chuckle, sounding amused by this act.

"So, you think you can protect them from me? You've got guts, kid." Joan refused to move from her spot and this only seemed to amuse Ganondorf more.

"You won't find them. I'm sure whatever they're planning will succeed." Joan stated bravely.

"Heh heh heh... You want a piece of me?! Very funny! I like your attitude!" He raised his left hand and created a sphere of magical energy before launching it directly towards Joan's chest. While it did no actual damage it was enough to knock Joan to the ground with a small burning sensation. She wasn't sure if that was because of the rain or not but there was no point questioning it. Pushing herself up a little, Joan managed to prop herself up on her elbows before looking towards Ganondorf who didn't look too bothered by the glare Joan was throwing him.

"Pathetic little fool! Do you realize who you are dealing with?!"

"A pathetic old man?" Joan mocked. Now Ganondorf was glaring towards the young girl.

"I am Ganondorf! And soon, I will rule the world!" Joan moved to push herself back up but felt her hand touch something on the ground and when she looked to her side and saw that the ocarina that Saria had given her had fallen out of her pocket. Joan went to take it but suddenly it was snatched out of her hand by Ganondorf. Eyeing the instrument as if it was the present he always wanted.

"So the princess thought she could hide the Ocarina of Time by giving it to you?!" Ganondorf cackled. "I have to give the brat credit for actually thinking that. But it looks like she made the wrong decision!"

"Hey, give that back!" Joan demanded as she pushed herself up and tried to punch Ganondorf. At least as much as she could given the big height difference between her and him. However, Ganondorf simply kicked Joan in the stomach with enough force to knock her back down. Joan groaned as she propped herself on her elbows and looked as the Gerudo got back on his horse.

"you better hope I don't catch you doing anything like that again, girl!" He warned in a cold tone. "I might make an example out of you!" He took his leave on his horse as it neighed loudly. Joan managed to get back up to her feet. Some mud on the ground clinging to her tunic.

"D-do you think they'll be all right?" Joan asked Navi as the Gerudo thief vanished in the distance. She didn't know whether to be glad that Ganondorf only thought he had the Ocarina of Time, or upset that she lost the gift from Saria.

"Hopefully. But we should see what Zelda threw into the moat." Navi told Joan. Joan wasted no time jumping into the moat and diving under the water. It was a little difficult to see at first because of the dark sky, but Joan was able to spot and shining blue and grabbed it before resurfacing and immediately pulling herself to shore. She looked at what she had in her hands and saw that it was a shining, blue ocarina. No doubt the Ocarina of Time.

"Looks like-" But Joan was cut off when she felt a sudden headache and put a hand to her face, dropping to her knees as she felt lightheaded.

_Joan at first could only see white where she was. Nothing else. But then a familiar voice echoed out in the whiteness._

_"Joan? Can you hear me? It's me, Zelda."_

_"Zelda?" Joan asked as she looked around her, but seeing nothing. "Where are you?"_

_Across from Joan, some of the whiteness began to fade enough for Joan to see Zelda in front of an alter with her back to her. It seemed like some sort of sacred place. The Temple of Time perhaps? Zelda then spoke out to her again._

_"Joan, when you hold this Ocarina in your hand, I won't be around anymore."_

_"What? But..." Joan couldn't think of what to say. What exactly did Zelda mean that she 'won't be around anymore'?_

_"I wanted to wait for you, but I couldn't delay any longer." Zelda explained. She sounded regretful but Joan could understand that. Joan felt slightly at fault for having delayed a little but there was nothing to be done about that now. Zelda then turned around to face Joan, though her eyes weren't open. She held the Ocarina of Time in her hand and held it to her lips._

_"At least I could leave you the Ocarina and this melody..." Zelda began to play the melody. It was short and while not exactly simple, it wasn't really complex. Once she finished demonstrating, she vanished. Leaving Joan at the alter by herself. With the Ocarina of Time in her hands now, she repeated what Zelda did. Note for note._

_Once Joan had completed and learned the song, the alter vanished leaving Joan in nothing but white again. But Zelda's voice echoed out._

_"Now, Joan. Play this melody in front of the altar in the Temple of __Time. You must protect the Triforce!"_

_"I will. I promise you that." Joan murmured._

"Joan!" Joan opened her eyes and saw she was still on her knees and that Navi was fluttering dangerously close to her face. It was still raining and Joan was now soaked to the bone. "Are you okay?! I've been trying to snap you out of it but it looked like you were almost in a trance!"

"I..." Joan trailed off as she stepped up again and looked to the drawbridge which was still down thankfully. "I heard Zelda. She thought me the song to get us into the Temple of Time."

"Then let's go! Before Ganondorf realises how stupid he is!" Joan smiled a little at Navi's small joke before she ran into Castle Town. I didn't look like there was too much chaos outside thankfully. Though some people were out, a little confused as they had heard the galloping of hooves. It seemed some had even been out to witness it and were questioning the guards about what was going on. But Joan didn't pay attention to their exact words. Finding the Temple of Time was far more important then anything.

Joan did soon find the temple. The outside of it had water pools on either side and there were flowerbeds and bushes all around. There were many glass windows and the brick was an earthly brown. When Joan stepped inside, it was completely different. It was all white except for some darker coloured stone on the shining marble floor. If it was daytime the light would have lit up the entire building. A red carpet led to an alter at the end of the temple. The same alter Joan remembered seeing Zelda standing at in her vision. There was a door behind the alter, which no doubt needed all the spiritual stones to open it.

The spiritual stones that Joan had.

"This is it. We're almost there." Navi murmured as she hovered by Joan's side as said girl neared the alter. "You know what to do."

Joan gave a simple nod and took out the spiritual stones of the forest, fire and water from her pocket. There was a small stand on the alter. Each specifically shaped for each stone. There was an inscription on the alter which read,

_Ye who owns three spiritual stones,_  
_ Stand with the Ocarina of Time,_  
_ And play the Song of Time._

Joan's hands shuck as she placed each of the stones in their proper place. She looked behind her, afraid that Ganondorf might have realised he did not have the right ocarina. Then there was the fear of what may have happened to Zelda and Impa. But Joan forced these concerns out as she took out the Ocarina of Time and began to play the Song of Time that Zelda thought her.

The moment she played the last note, the Triforce symbol above the door glowed a gold light and the door beneath it began to pull itself open. Joan's breath became shaky as she walked around the alter and inside the room. It was a circular chamber with only a single window high above, and a platform in the center of the room with the symbol of the Triforce and six images of medallions around it. In the center of the platform, Joan could make out a sword shape in the dim lighting.

"Link, isn't that..." Navi flew ahead of Joan, sounding breathless as she neared the blade. There was a flash of lighting and the room illuminated long enough for Joan to see the sword in all it's glory from it's dark purple hilt to the shining silver of it's blade.

"It's that legendary blade... The Master Sword!"

"The... Master Sword?" Joan repeated questionably as she approached the sword hesitantly. Why is it that her left hand started to twitch and ache to hold the sword? Why did the name itself sound... familiar?

"Yes. I've heard of this sword from the Great Deku Tree. It is said the sword was created by a Goddess and that it was wielded by her Chosen Hero. It's said to be the bane of all evil. I bet it could even defeat Ganondorf no problem!"

"But I don't understand. I thought that the Triforce..." Joan trailed off as she looked at the sword, unsure what exactly to say.

"I think that if you pull the sword, it will lead you to the Sacred Realm. There we will find the Triforce." Navi told Joan.

"Are you saying that... I could wield it?" Joan asked as she gave an unsure look to her companion. The sword was nearly the same size as her. Maybe even a bit bigger.

"I can't say for certain, but I believe only certain people can wield it. If you can pull it out and go to the Sacred Realm, you may be able to."

Joan looked to the sword before she gripped it first with her left hand and then her right. A look of determination on her face.

"Let's do this." She murmured before she used all of her strength to pull the sword from the pedestal it was in. All Joan could see then was a blue light surrounding the pedestal. Joan's eyes began to flutter as a sudden drowsiness came over her. But the last thing she could hear before her eyes shut a final time was dark, dark laughter.


	12. Seven Years

Joan didn't know where exactly happened after the sword was pulled. She just... fell asleep? That seemed the best word for it, though it didn't exactly fit what she had in mind. Joan did however feel that something was right. She couldn't really move, but now she was feeling her fingers twitch. Maybe she was waking up?

"Wake up... Joan, the chosen one..." Joan groaned a little as she forced her eyes open. The first thing she saw was a bright blue. There were pedestals everywhere with water silently flowing down from them as said pedestals floats in a room with walls that also had water running down them. Looking at the platform she was on, Joan noticed it was similar to the one back in the Temple of Time. It all felt like a surreal dream.

"Wh-where am I?" Joan mumbled as she continued to look around before her eyes landed an elderly looking man across from her. He was heavy and wore orange robes with a white and red sash, that seemed a bit too big for him. "Er... Who are you exactly? And where are we?" Joan asked. Wanting to get the basic questions out of the way first.

"I am Rauru, one of the ancient Sages." He answered. "We are inside the chamber of the sages, inside the Temple of Light which is situated in the very center of the Sacred Realm."

"The Sacred Realm? So, does that mean Ganondorf didn't come here?" Joan asked hopefully, but her heart dropped once Rauru shuck his head.

"No. In fact, this is the last stronghold against his evil forces."

"So he got in?! But how?" Joan asked but stopped when she thought of what she did in the Temple of Time. "Was it because I took the Master Sword?"

"Indeed. It was in fact the final key to the Sacred Realm. Only a person worthy of the title 'Hero of Time' could pull it out. However, you were far too young to wield the sword. So your soul was sealed until you were old enough."

"H-how long WAS I asleep for?" Joan asked, trying to prepare herself for the answer.

"Don't be alarmed, but look at yourself. You have been here for seven years."

Joan's eyes went wide in shock and she immediately looked down. She was taller now, with the body of a seventeen year old. Her tunic was above knee length and she now had white leggings. She had leather vambrace and gauntlets on, and her boots seemed to be made of more sturdy material then when she was a child. Feeling around her head, her hair was still in a stuby ponytail though there was a small braid by the side of her face.

"Look Joan! You're big now!" Joan looked up and smiled as she saw a familiar blue fairy fly around. Good to know she was still with her. Joan then looked back to Rauru.

"Okay, so after I pulled the sword out, it allowed Ganondorf in?"

"Indeed. While you did it in the name of peace, he did enter the Sacred Realm and stole the Triforce from the Temple of Light, and with it's power, became the King of Evil. His evil power radiated from the temples of Hyrule, and in seven short years, it transformed Hyrule into a world of monsters. My power now has only little influence, even in this Sacred Realm. Namely, this Chamber of Sages."

"Is there anything that can be done?" Joan asked, mentally cringing the thought of what had become of Hyrule. In a way her actions, while they were for good intentions, were actually kind of counterproductive.

"Yes, there is still hope." Rauru confirmed. "The power of the Sages remains. When the power of all the Sages is awakened, the Sages' Seals will contain all the evil power in the void of the Realm. I, Rauru, am one of the Sages. And your power to fight together with the Sages makes you the Hero of Time! The Hero of Time, chosen by the Master Sword!"

"So, even if I didn't want to... I wouldn't really have an actual choice in the matter. Would I?" Joan asked. Rauru nodded with a solemn look.

"I'm afraid so. It is your duty as the Hero of Time to do this."

"... Alright then." Joan nodded. "If it's to be, then I guess it's up to me." Rauru nodded his head. Pleased with the response before he held his hands out.

"Now. Keep my spirit with you. And, find the power of the other Sages, and add their might to your own!"

There was a small flash of blinding light and Joan shut her eyes tightly to shield them before opening them carefully. Hovering in front of her was a gold medallion with a symbol on it. Likely representing the Sage of Light. Joan hesitantly took it and looked at it in her hand. Just as she looked back up to Rauru, there was another blinding white light. The last words Joan could hear were,

"Find the other Sages and save Hyrule!"

When Joan opened her eyes again, she was back in the Temple of Time. Standing on the pedestal she had stood on years ago. It seemed like it was suppose to be day since there was light inside but it seemed dreary. Joan was hoping that it was just simply bad weather outside, but deep down she knew that was not the case.

"Joan, we're back in the Temple of Time. But have seven years really passed?" Navi questioned. Joan sighed as she looked up to the lone window in the room.

"I don't know Navi, but if so we may have a lot of work on our hands." Joan said as she looked over her hands before she noticed something on the back of her right gauntlet. There were six circular images in a circle and only one was coloured in. The same gold colour of the medallion Rauru gave her.

"Well that's a good way to keep track." Navi commented as she looked at the gauntlet. "Where do we go first?" Joan thought this over before answering,

"We go to Kokiri Forest. Stop at the Lon Lon Ranch on the way. How's that sound?"

"Sounds fair enough," Navi agreed. "Let's go!"

Joan stepped off the pedestal and began to take her leave when she stopped. Something felt odd. Was there someone behind her? Not wanting to take a chance, Joan quickly drew her sword and held her shield off. Being older she was able to wield her Hylian shield properly now.

There was someone behind Joan as she suspected. It was a young man, maybe around Joan's age, who wore blue clothes and had his face partially covered in cloth shpwing only one red eye and some blonde hair. There was a symbol on the front of his clothes of a eye with a teardrop that Joan recognised. She was sure she had seen it on Impa's clothing. Unless Joan was wrong, she assumed this person was a Sheikah as well. Before Joan could say anything the mysterious person spoke.

"I've been waiting for you, Hero of Time. When evil rules all, an awakening voice from the Sacred Realm will call those destined to be Sages, who dwell in the five temples.

"One in a deep forest. One on a high mountain. One under a vast lake. One within the house of the dead. One inside a goddess of the sand. Together with the Hero of Time, the awakened ones will bind the evil and return the light of peace to the world. This is the legend of the temples passed down by my people, the Sheikah." Joan waited for a moment but when she was certain he had stopped speaking for the moment she had asked,

"I'm guessing from what you said that some of the sages will be in places I've been before. The forest, mountain and lake obviously refer to the Kokiri, Gorons and Zoras. I'm not too sure on the 'house of the dead' and goddess of the sand' though. But would I be right?"

"Indeed you would be correct." He answered. Joan was beginning to notice that he didn't show much emotion as he talked. Like he was hiding it all. "Those three temples are where you must travel and brave first. Survive their obstacles and aid the sages in awakening."

"Okay," Joan nodded in understanding. "And what's your name? I think it's only right to know it?"

"I am Sheik." He answered. "Survivor of the Sheikahs."

A small smile tugged at Joan's mouth. So she was right. This man before her was indeed a Sheikah. Joan then noticed his attention drift down to the sword she was till holding.

"As I see you standing there holding the mythical Master Sword, you really do look like the legendary Hero of Time. If you believe the legend, you have no choice. You must look for the five temples and awaken the five Sages."

"I am aware of this. Rauru told me this and I accept there's no way I can avoid it." Joan told Sheik. He gave no visible response and continued on.

"One Sage is waiting for the time of awakening in the Forest Temple. The Sage is a girl I am sure you know."

"A girl I..." Joan trailed off. Was he talking about Saria? Joan could actually understand if Saria did indeed turn out to be a sage, but what did that mean for her friend exactly? Would she even be in... In danger? It was a dark thought and depending on the time of day outside she may make her trip to Lon Lon Ranch short or cut it out altogether until after she went to Kokiri Forest.

"Are you talking about... Saria?" Joan asked Sheik.

"She is the one I speak of. Because of the evil power in the temple, she cannot hear the awakening call from the Sacred Realm. Before you do go to her though, I suggest you go to Kakariko and equip yourself properly. Do you understand, Joan?"

"Yes, of course!" Joan answered a little quickly. "I-I'll head there straight away, get my equipment and then I'll head straight to Kokiri Forest!"

"Good." Sheik said. "There may be a need at some point to return to the past for something specific. You can always place the sword back in the pedestal and you will return to the past. Removing it will return you here."

"Alright. Thank you, Sheik." Joan said before asking "Will I ever see you again?"

"You will. But before I leave know this. The time will come when you will have to return here quickly. I will teach this to you for when that time comes. The song to return you to the Temple of Light. The Prelude of Light." Sheik then took out a harp and readied the instrument before he began playing Prelude of Light. It sounded cheerful though not as much as Saria's Song, and there was a sound of some glittering hope in it. Joan took out her ocarina and began to play the song along with him, slowly perfecting it until it was note for note.

When they finished there was a moment of silence. Finally though Sheik spoke.

"As long as you hold the Ocarina of Time and the Master Sword, you hold time itself in your hands. Joan, we shall meet again!"

He threw a deku nut to the ground and vanished before the flash faded away. Leaving Joan and Navi alone. Joan looked to her ocarina and then the window.

"How much do you think everything's changed?" Navi asked the questioned Joan was thinking. "It certainly can't be good if Ganondorf is involved."

"Definitely." Joan murmured as she put her instrument away. "I can't really think of how much we may have to adapt to, but we'll manage somehow. I know it."

"No point in stalling anymore then. We may as well see how much damage has come to Hyrule, and what we'll have to fix."

Joan silently agreed as she turned around and began to walk towards the doors of the Temple of Time. Trying to mentally prepare herself for what the world had for her. Both good and bad. Though with a world controlled by Ganondorf, it could only be bad.


	13. News of the Ranch

"Well, here we go." Joan murmured as she pressed her hands against the wooden door. She was anxious to see how the world was after seven years. It was certainly not going to be a fairy tale land. Taking a deep breath, she forced the doors open. A large creaking sound echoing softly. The sight of the outside world made the heroine feel her mental strength wither.

The outside of the temple was void of life. Gone were the plant life, either completely destroyed or burned up into charred remains. The water pools were dried up and the sky was murky with an ominous red. Everything was dark, murky and red. Frowning, Joan looked around to see if there was any life or people nearby. But there were none.

"We... We should go. If we have to go to Kakariko, then it isn't likely safe here." Navi told Joan calmly, though she was just as upset as Joan. Thinking on it, she hadn't really thought that Castle Town would be so bad that there would be no one here. She just blindly accepted to go to Kakariko. She would have to be more careful on what she decides in this new world. Joan agreed with Navi quietly and began to walk. There was no point running right now since there was nothing to run from. It would only be a waste of energy anyway.

As Joan continued on, Joan saw more of the destroyed buildings, ruined businesses. There was even a foul stench in the air. What that smell was exactly Joan had some idea but she had no desire whatsoever to actually find out the answer. She was certain that it would be an answer she would not like.

It was when Joan reached the familiar plaza of the town that her blood felt cold. The fiendish, skeletal redead with their wooden masks and sharp teeth. All poised at different parts of the area from the remains of homes long since gone to the earth dry fountain. It was odd in some way though, how Joan felt as she was near them. They were so terrifying when she first saw them as a child. A young girl of ten. They still were. Somehow, the possibilities of what would happen if they caught her crawled into her mind more now then back then.

"Joan, play the Sun's Song." Navi whispered in Joan's ear. Nearly startling the girl but Joan eventually gave a silent nod and reached for the Ocarina of Time. However, once she played the first note a screech echoed out from behind Joan! Literally paralyzing her. Joan tried to move her arms but she couldn't as she heard the slow moving and groaning of the living skeleton which was soon accompanied by others.

All with the taste for her flesh.

Navi was panic as all Joan could do was widen her eyes and grit her teeth. Her heart was beginning to race as they came closer and closer. This couldn't be it! Not after just arriving in this new, horrible Hyrule! The Hero of Time! Died after just about ten to fifteen minutes!

Her fingers twitched.

One was close to her neck! She couldn't just hear it. She could feel hot breath of death.

She could flex her fingers. Move her head lightly.

A skeleton hand gripped her shoulder and dug it's fingers in deeply.

Joan's arms could feel again.

A loud groan was heard as the redead opened it's jaw and neared it towards Joan's neck.

Then, Joan's arm shot to the handle of the Master Sword and unsheathed it only to meet the neck of the redead. Contaminating the silver blade in blood.

Joan couldn't move her legs yet, but she would fight for her life! She grabbed the face of one redead that was in front of her above it's mouth and kept it back as she used her sword and fight the redead behind her. It was a moment that she would likely have nightmares about later on it life. Thank goodness she still had the Goron bracelet to give her strength to do this.

Eventually though, feeling returned to her legs! Signalling she could run at last! Joan drove her sword into the chest of the redead in front of her and began to run. Determined to leave this cursed town.

The drawbridge was down, though broken in the middle. But the gap was small enough for Joan to jump over without consequence. But Joan wasn't going to stop just yet. Not until she couldn't run anymore.

When that did happen, she fell face first to the ground. Panting lightly, Joan forced herself onto her back and looked up towards the sky. It wasn't too bad now. Still blue though there were grey clouds that got darker as they neared Castle Town. How fitting.

"Joan!" Navi hovered over Joan's face. Her wings fluttering madly. "You're okay, right? You didn't get hurt, or at least not much?"

"I feel like I'm gonna have nightmares about this day," Joan mumbled as she rubbed her slight sweaty face. "But I'm more or less fine other then that."

"I'm sorry I couldn't help you-"

"Don't worry about it. Having you by my side is enough. 'Sides, how could you have helped me anyway?" Joan sat up and inhaled deeply. "Let's get going to Kakariko. The faster the better."

Kakariko Village had changed a lot in the last seven years. The construction that had been going on back when she was ten was finally finished. Some of them occupied by businesses that had once been in Castle Town. Even the population had increased due to how many had fled Castle Town for their safety. People were still seemed to be living their everyday lives. Though understandably some of them were looking glum and depressed.

Fortunately one of the shops that had opened up in Kakariko was the Bazaar, so Joan didn't waste getting what she figured she would need. Some Goron bombs, a bow with arrows and of course the item she had always wanted since she first saw it. The longshot!

Joan couldn't resist grinning as she attached the longshot to her belt. And could she honestly be blamed? She could already imagine herself swinging from tree to tree, and roof to roof.

But while she was having these fantasies, she wasn't giving too much attention to where she was going so she ended up bumping into someone and making them drop some items.

"Oh, so sorry! I wasn't looking. I'll pick 'em up!" Joan had already knelt down and started picking up the items. Masks. There was a familiar feeling about this for some reason though Joan couldn't really say why.

"Thank you dear, not many people would be so kind or admit their mind was travel in a different direction." Joan froze as she picked up the last mask and she looked up at the man who had spoken. The same person she never planned to see ever again.

The Happy Mask Salesman,

"Er... Right. Um here." Joan said as she stood up and held the masks out. While the salesman showed no aggression in his voice, he did snatch the masks from Joan's hands.

"It's shame you weren't able to come to my shop after we first met. I had a feeling you would have been good at selling masks." Joan felt shocked as she looked at the man with his infamous creepy smile.

"You... You remember me?!" He gave a chuckle in response before responding.

"But of course! I never forget faces, just like I never forget a mask!"

"Okay then," Joan replied. "So uh... I'm guessing you've moved your business here because of what's happened in Castle Town?"

"Yes. I can't exactly sell masks to redead, now can I?"

"Guess not." Joan answered. Sounding a little more then unsure on how to actually respond to this man exactly.

"And besides. Someone has to keep joy in the world, even in these dark times."

Joan only nodded. She wasn't expecting to have a conversation with anyone when she got here. She only wanted to get items and head straight to Kokiri Forest. She couldn't just blow this man off. Even if he was freaking her out a bit.

"It's a terrible thing that had happened. No one has really escaped. Why, most people here have had to leave their homes! Even Talon-"

"Talon? The owner of the Lon Lon Ranch?" Joan asked. She hoped that nothing too bad had happened to Malon or her father. While she didn't know them too long, she had liked them a lot.

"He was cheated out of his ranch." The salesman answered. "That's what I know at least. I think his daughter still works at the ranch though. Sweet girl. Really cares for the horses." Joan wasn't sure what to feel exactly. Talon and Malon were alive at least so that was something. However, something bad had clearly happened, though the ranch was still around.

"Where's Talon now? If you know." Joan added quickly.

"Ho ho ho. It's good to see you care. Talon normally stays in that inn there." He pointed to a nearby building. "He's usually sleeping though." Joan gave a faint smile, remembering that Talon had been more lazy then her when sleep was involved. She then frowned and asked,

"How was he cheated out of his ranch?"

"Do you remember a Mr. Ingo?"

"Yeah, I remember him. He felt that he did more work then Talon I think." Joan answered before she realised she had answered her own question. "Mr. Ingo cheated him of his ranch?!"

"Yes, and he's in charge now. It appears that he is perfectly happy with Ganondorf's rule. Why, I've heard that he's planning on sending this wild horse to Ganondorf as a gift. I think the horse is called Epona."

Joan bit her tongue a bit so not to shout out something. Whether Ingo was an actual good worker or not, Joan couldn't say herself. But she knew enough to tell that Ingo was far from a nice person and wouldn't be surprised if the ranch was going out of business really.

"I see." Joan mumbled. "Well, thanks for telling me this."

"It was no trouble. But I must be off." He gave one last chuckle before he added, "I hope to meet again with your childhood." He then walked away leaving Joan questioning if the man knew things he should have no idea about. Despite her own concerns though, Joan eventually looked to the inn that Talon was in and contemplated going in and seeing him. Deciding to do so, Joan entered the inn.

It wasn't very big. Just a big, single room with bunk beds and a stove with stew that the inn keeper was looking over. Finding Talon wasn't too difficult. He still wore the same blue overalls and red shirt as he snoozed on his bed. The only thing different she noticed was maybe some grey of his hair. She lightly shuck his shoulder in an attempt to wake him, but that didn't work. Failing that, Joan shuck a little harder. Eventually she resorted to lightly slapping his face until he woke with a snort.

"Wh-what in the..." He stopped when he noticed Joan looking at him and squinted his eyes a little. "Do I know you? Ya seem kinda familiar."

"It's me, Joan. Remember? I woke you up at Hyrule Castle and I was friends with your daughter, Malon." Joan told him, hoping he would remember. He apparently did as he went a little wide eyed but gave a small laugh.

"Joan! I haven't seen you since you were a little girl! Where have you been all these years?"

"Long story. Rather not talk about it." Joan said quickly before she asked her question. "I've heard that you were cheated out of your ranch by Mr. Ingo. Is it true?" Talon lost the slightly cheerful look he had and looked depressed.

"I'm afraid it is. He cheated me and now my sweet Malon is working at the ranch under that man. She does it for the horses though, bless her heart." At least there was a good reason Malon was there. "And I've heard what he's gonna do with poor Epona." Talon sat on his bed with his hands to his face. "I know I'm not a perfect man, and Mr. Ingo does have a point about my, er... Sleeping habits. But I always tried to treat him fairly."

"... I'm sure you did." Joan said, wanting to give some sort of comfort.

"Before she passed on, my wife joked that in a blink of an eye everything would change for me with the amount of sleep I did. I'm starting to think maybe she should have been more serious about that."

"... I'll stop by the ranch if you like." Joan offered to Talon. Said man looked very appreciative.

"I'd like that. Mind telling Malon her daddy loves her and is very sorry for having messed everything up."

"I'll quote that for you, but personally I don't think you really messed everything up." Joan simply said before she turned to leave the inn. Politely declining the inn keepers offer of an evening meal on the way out. Joan's trip back home would have to wait till around night. She had to visit a ranch and liberate a horse.

* * *

**While I know this won't m****uch to most of you, I just feel like saying it. This chapter is officially the first chapter I've ever written for this site, on my new laptop, that I got as a late birthday present!**


	14. Epona's Liberation

While it was evening, the sun was still up as Joan stepped onto the Lon Lon Ranch as Navi the fairy rested on her shoulder. It was good to see that it was till standing in one piece. It looked almost the same as it did seven years ago. Even if Joan did sense a glum feeling from the ranch. She walked past the barn where cows could be heard mooing faintly, as Joan made her way towards the corral. Wrinkling her nose At the site of gates with Ingo's face on them. He really thought too highly of himself.

Nearing the corral, Joan saw a familiar person standing near the fence. Malon. She was singing softly as Joan walked up to her. She briefly paused to think about what to say exactly but decided to just say hey and see how things would go.

"Hey there. This is the Lon Lon Ranch, right?"

Malon quickly turned around to face Joan. She seemed slightly taller then Joan now, and her clothes were still simple like they had been in the past. When she saw Joan her face beamed happily.

"Oh, a visitor! We haven't had one in years! Where did you come from?" It seemed Malon didn't recognise Joan. At least not yet. But Joan decided not to bring it up just yet.

"No where in particular really," Joan answered vaguely before looking over the fence. "The horses look good."

"Thank you. To be honest I'm scared what would happen to them if I left. You see, my dad used to own this ranch. But Mr. Ingo pretty much stole it from him! Mr. Ingo just wants to gain Ganondorf's favour by using the ranch. Everyone seems to be turning evil and I know he'll treat the horses badly if I leave! He's even planning on offering Epona to Ganondorf!"

"Epona?" While Joan already knew this, she figured she'd ask it anyway as she looked out into the corral. The fact that Ingo was basically sucking up to Ganondorf was almost making her blood steam from bubbling, heated anger. With everything that has happened, how could anyone willingly want to be near Ganondorf even?

"That's her over there." Malon gestured out to the horse that Joan had been looking out for. Epona was now a fully grown mare. She still had her red-brown coat, although her mane had become a snowy white, including the bottom half of her tail leaving the rest black.

"She looks like a fine horse." Joan commented. "So what exactly does this Ingo guy do with the horses?"

"He has people ride them. S'long as they don't hurt them it's not too bad." Malon admitted. "But sometimes there are nastier people who ride and hurt them. Mr. Ingo doesn't care as long as they pay. I can't even sing to the horses without getting in trouble. But I do at night. Please don't tell Mr. Ingo."

"I won't. I swear." Joan promised. Looking back to the horses, she noticed they still had saddles and reins on. "Think it'd be okay if I could ride one. I'll be nice." Malon looked behind her, looking out for someone. Likely Ingo. She then looked back to Joan with a smile.

"As long as you don't hurt any of the horses, you can ride for free. Any horse in mind?"

"I think if it's okay with her, I might go with Epona." Joan said with a small smile.

"Epona? I'm not sure. She's a bit of a wild one and doesn't really like other people coming up to her."

"I think I can tame her."

"How?"

"You'll see." Joan answered Malon as she jumped over the fence and walked a little into the corral before taking out her ocarina, and playing the song Malon taught her years ago. The same song that Epona enjoyed.

Joan hadn't even finished the song when she felt the horse's head nudge gently against the side of her own. Joan laughed a little and petted the horses head.

"Nice to see ya girl. I'm guessing you're happy to see me too. Eh?" She received a small grunt in response. Joan managed to get on Epona easily enough. She was a bit nervous on how exactly to ride a horse but she was able to figure out the basic controls after some time of riding around. It probably would have come to Joan sooner had Epona gone at a slightly slower pace but she did learn it in the end so what was there to complain about?

Joan had been so busy with Epona she didn't notice the shocked look on Malon's face which soon changed to contemplation as she watched the blonde girl ride with Epona.

"So how'd I do?" Joan asked Malon as she rode Epona near the red haired girl. Malon didn't answer and still looked at Joan as she thought back a few years.

"... Is that you, fairy girl?" Malon asked as a smile broke out on her face. Matching the one that Joan now had.

"Good to see you didn't forget me, Mal."

"Where have you been for the last seven years?"

"Uh... It's kinda a long story," Joan said sheepishly. "Not too sure you would really believe it."

"I'm sure I would. But I'm still happy to see you. I'm surprised you'd come here after all this time."

"Well I heard some stuff was going on here and that your dad got cheated. Oh, that reminds me. You're dad wanted me to say that he's sorry he messed things up and he loves you-"

"MALON!" Both girls flinched at the sudden yell and looked to see Mr. Ingo marching towards Malon. He was dressed ridiculously like he was trying to look like some fancy aristocrat.

"Mr. Ingo, I-"

"What have I told you, you stupid girl! I take care of the visitors, and you take care of the rest!" Mr. Ingo then looked to Joan and forced on what looked to have been his attempt at a welcoming smile. Instead it just looked disturbingly scary. If there were ever any visitors, they probably would have left the moment that smile came on.

"I'm sorry, but I normally handle the visitors here. Unless you've already have, you'll have to pay ten rupees for riding one of our fine horses. I'm afraid Malon here has a tendency to forget sometimes." Not wanting to get Malon in trouble, Joan willingly handed over ten rupees.

"I think Malon was doing her job well." Joan told Ingo calmly. "In fact, I almost thought she was the owner." Ingo broke into a forced laughter. It was clear that Joan's statement had upset him very much.

"Don't be silly, of course she isn't."

Joan forced herself to not roll her eyes. She came here because of what she heard was happening here, and if there was anything she was going to do it was liberate Epona!

"This is a really fine horse." Joan commented as she patted Epona's mane. "Not as brilliant as my own one back home, but then again it's really the rider rather then the horse that wins a race so I suppose I can't exactly compare."

"What are you doing?" Navi whispered in Joan's ear but Joan continued on.

"To be honest though, the real reason I came here was because I heard there was a great racer who owned the ranch and I figured, 'why not have a race with him for fun?'" Malon looked just as confused as Navi had sounded, but Ingo only looked proud at the flattery towards him that he believed genuine.

"Well if it's a race you want, a race you'll have!"

"And lets make a bet to make things interesting. Fifty rupees." Joan was actually running a bit low on rupees, so she had to hope her plan would work otherwise she would become broke before she knew it!

"Fifty rupees, eh? Alright, deal! Prepare to loose your money, young miss! One lap around the corral! I'll get my horse."

"Joan, what are you doing?" Malon asked as Ingo went to get on the nearest horse.

"Don't worry. If this goes the way I imagined it, I'll be leaving with Epona." Joan told her.

"Really?" Malon looked hopeful as she looked at the mare. "And if it doesn't?"

"... I hope you won't mind, but I'll be stealing her then."

"Alright, let's go!" Ingo yelled as he got on his horse.

"Good luck." Malon told Joan before she stepped away from the corral to give space for the horses.

Joan and Ingo were on the horses at the starting line just outside the corral gates. Malon was nearby, holding her yellow scarf up as riders tightened their grips on the horses reins. There was a pit of nervousness in Joan's gut, but she wasn't going to back down now.

The moment the scarf was dropped, both Joan and Ingo set off! The sounds of horses hooves galloping and Ingo ordering his horse to go faster heard clearly throughout the field. In the beginning of the race it was neck and neck, with only the air to the push against, and occasional bug who happened to fly close to their faces. But Epona's speed and the face that Joan on the inside meant that Joan was able to come in first. Joan didn't make any effort to hide her grin as she ruffled Epona's mane.

"You did good girl. Hopefully if this goes the way I want, you'll be coming with me."

"Sh-shoooot!" Joan turned her head to see Ingo just a little behind her, clutching at his hair. "If the great Ganondorf found out about this humiliation..." He almost seemed to pale as he said that. Joan began to wonder if perhaps Ingo had sucked up to Ganondorf in order to gain control of the ranch. Perhaps promising to breed fast horses. It would explain how exactly Talon lost the ranch. Ingo then looked to Joan, a crazed and desperate look in his eyes.

"H-how about another race? If you win, I'll... I'll..."

"Let me keep the horse?" Joan suggested with a smile. She hadn't exactly expected Ingo to act like this. She had mostly planned that despite the outcome of the first race she would suggest having the horse as a prize. But Joan wasn't going to be ungrateful for Ingo's pride.

"Yes!" Ingo stopped after he immediately agreed. Looking as if he was going to take back his word. Instead he got off his horse and pulled on it's rein harshly back into the corral before getting another horse that did seem to have more strength then the previous one.

"I don't plan to loose this time, girl!" He growled to Joan as Malon held up her scarf once the racers were back in position at the start. Malon gave Joan a reassuring smile to Joan before she dropped her scarf, starting the new race. It was trickier then the last one. The horse Ingo was using now was faster then the other and for a moment it seemed to almost get ahead of Joan and Epona. But there were two fortunes for Joan during the race. The first being that the horse quickly became tired near the halfway point due to Ingo constantly using a riding crop on it to try and encourage it to go faster. The second was that after this, Joan was able to maneuver Epona so that they always kept Ingo from going around them.

Sure enough though, Joan was the first to cross the finish. Malon was lauhging as she clapped her hands and went over to Joan and rubbed Epona's nose.

"You two were great. I don't think I'll have any regrets letting Epona go with you, fairy girl."

"Glad you have that confidence in me." Joan replied as she scratched Epona behind her ear and receiving a small grunt of appreciation. However, a certain pretentious git was not as happy as the two girls.

"How could this have happened?! What's up with that horse?! ... Wait, is that Epona?!" Ingo's face was quickly changing between several shades of red after he let go of the hair he had been clutching clutching. He got off his horse and smacked the side of it's neck harshly making Malon quickly run past Ingo and lead the horse towards the barn. Likely to sing to the horse inside and away from Ingo. Said man meanwhile made his way to Joan, who kept a blank face.

"How did you tame that wild horse right under my nose?!" He demanded loudly.

"I'm good with horses?" Joan guessed as she lightly shrugged her shoulders. "Doesn't really matter now though, does it? After all, Epona is mine now?" Joan looked a bit smug as Ingo's eye began to twitch. He then began to chuckle and walked towards the gates of the field. Feeling uneasy Joan, still riding Epona, followed behind until Ingo turned around and shut the metal gates with a loud clang. Loud enough for Malon to rush out of the barn to see what was going on.

"What the-!"

"As I promised, you can have the horse. However, I'll never let you leave this ranch!"

"You can't do that!" Malon cried, her fists clenched as she began to make her way to Ingo.

"I never said the horse could leave. Only that it could be her's." Ingo scoffed. "And don't speak to your boss that way!" Reluctantly, Malon backed away, though the look of anger on her face didn't lessen. Joan however looked at the gates thoughtfully.

"... Think you can jump it, Epona?" Joan asked the mare. The horse gave a neigh and as far as Joan could tell it didn't seem to have any problem with that. Seeing how the other option was staying here, Joan would have said yes too.

"Then lets go!" Joan urged as she had Epona back up a short distance before breaking off into a speeding gallop towards the fence. Ingo was laughing, not thinking that it was possible. But he was silence as his view of the evening sky was darkened by Epona leaping over the silver gate and himself with grace.

"Thanks for the horse! Talk to ya later Malon!" Joan called out before she galloped on towards Hyrule Field, laughing with no regrets.

Ingo himself was in a shock as Malon smiled as she looked on at the sight. But Ingo snapped out of it and quickly began to run.

"Get back here you wench! And bring that horse back too or I swear you'll rue the day you stepped on this ground!" Ingo however in his rage had not been looking where he had been going, and a cucco had wandered away from it's group to around the same path Ingo was running down. His day was about to become worse when he made another of many mistakes in his life.

He kicked the cucco.

He paled as he froze to the spot. Afraid to move. Even Malon froze. Most people knew that while cucco gave tasty eggs and meat you didn't want to harm them in a way like Ingo had just done, and while Malon disliked Ingo greatly, she never wanted to actually physically harm him! The cucco looked stunned, and seemed to stare off into the distance.

"Please don't." Ingo whimpered. But alas, the cucco threw it's head back and gave a very loud cry. That cry was followed by more as seemingly out of nowhere, cuccos around the ranch began to descended towards Ingo. The next sounds to follow that would be the man's cries of pain and terror, and while he would live, he would never really be the same afterwards.

"That was pretty good," Navi chirped to Joan as she flew by Joan's side. Said girl galloping in the field with their new companion. "I'm not gonna lie, I kinda had my doubts but you proved yourself!"

"Thanks!" Joan grinned. "Now lets go to Kokiri Forest! I don't plan to sleep or eat until I know what's happening there and to Saria!"


	15. Return to Kokiri Forest

The sun had almost set when Joan made it to the entrance of the Kokiri Forest, but Joan's desire to see her friend Saria and her home after seven years kept her going, though she did slow Epona's speed to ease some of the stress off of her as they went through the entrance tunnel to the woods. So far nothing seemed that different. It gave Joan a nostalgic feeling as she rode further in. But there was still an anxious feeling as Joan tried to imagine what the others were up to. Would they recognise her? Would Saria be okay by the time Joan got there?

It was dark when Joan finally entered the small village she had grown up in. It was quiet and some fireflies were darting here and there. Joan however got an uneasy feeling and stopped Epona before getting off and leading her to a tree.

"Stay here. I'll be back as soon as I can. I might get someone to look after you if I might be longer." Joan then reached for her sword and pulled it out as well as her shield as she walked further into the area.

Joan then stumbled as something hard hit her back. Turning around, she saw a deku nut on the ground and looked back up to see it was shot at her by a mad scrub. There were a few others and Joan didn't have trouble with them as you really had to do was use a shield to reflect the deku nuts back at them and then take them out with a sword. The deku babas weren't so easy as proved by how one caught Joan off guard by biting her shoulder from behind before she sliced it's head off, and then taking out others. They were different from the last time Joan had seen them. They had grown bigger and looked a bit more vicious, but even the sword Joan had used when she was younger could have beaten these guys.

Looking around, Joan was trying to see if anyone was around. But it didn't look like it. Furrowing her eyebrows, Joan walked towards Saria's house and peaked in through the door.

"Saria? Are you here?" But the house was empty. It seemed more or less the same as it did when Joan was here last. One of the few changes Joan could see was that there were daffodils in one of Saria's vases now along with wildflowers. Replacing the lilies that had been there. At least Joan thought that there had been lilies. She couldn't really remember. It was definitely a white coloured flower.

The sudden feeling of something hitting the back of her head sharply cut Joan off guard and she turned around just in time to get hit in between her eyes. Her hand automatically went to the spot that was hit as she looked to see a couple of deku seeds on the ground and looking back up she saw some of the Kokiri, with Mido in lead holding a slingshot in the direction of Joan's face. One thing stuck out sharply in Joan's mind.

Why were they still kids?

Yes, being Kokiri meant that you would never age. But where did that leave Joan? Here she was, in the body of a seventeen year old, yet everyone else here still looked like they were ten. Why was that? Why did Joan-

"Who are you, and what are you doing here?" Mido snapped. Ah, good to see Mildew hadn't changed. Joan decided not to give her name just yet and held her arms halfway up.

"I'm a friend of Saria's, and I heard something bad was happening here so I decided to investigate. By the way, I did some weeding with those babas. They were a bit tricky but I got rid of them."

"Why would Saria be friends with an adult." Mido scowled.

"Because I'm nice? Or at least nicer compared to you?" Joan guessed with a small smile.

"Well I don't believe you!"

"Well, if she knows Saria, she's probably alright." said one of the Kokiri, a girl with bright blonde hair, who Joan remembered to be Fado. "And she did get rid rid of the deku babas..."

"She could have kidnapped Saria!"

"... I know her song," Joan told them as she took out her blue ocarina. "I'll play it."

"Like she would-" But Mido stopped once Joan began the song. While it wasn't as fast as Saria could do, it was still Saria's Song.

"Enough proof?" Joan asked with a raised eyebrow. Mido was clearly upset and folded his arms as he muttered something to himself. "Now you said something about Saria being kidnapped?"

"We don't really know, but she said she had to go to the Forest Temple and ran off there." One of the Know-It-All Brothers answered before Mido could speak.

"Okay, then I'll be heading there then." Joan then looked over to Epona who was still by the tree she left her by. Grazing on the grass. "Can one of you look after my horse while I go look for Saria?"

"I'll do it!" Fado was grinning as she ran off to Epona. Joan lightly smiled and she turned to make her way to the temple.

"Wait, you can't go through the Lost Woods! You'll get lost and die there!" Joan looked back to see it was Mido who shouted that.

"I know the way. Don't worry." Mido looked at Joan for a moment before he began to walk away. But not before he muttered,

"Why do you make me think of her?"

Joan didn't give him a second thought and walked to the entrance to the Lost Woods. Apart from a few more deku babas in Joan's way, the woods looked the same as they did the last time Joan was here. The only light Joan had was coming from the stars and moon. When Joan was about halfway to the temple, she sat on a tree stump to catch her breath.

"Are you doing okay, Joan? It's okay to rest a bit." Navi told Joan. But she noticed that Joan seemed a million miles away in her head. "Joan? Joan, are you okay?" Joan nearly jumped but slowly nodded.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine. I just... Is it me, or is it weird that everyone else is still the same age, yet I'm older?"

"Joan?"

"I'm serious. Why am I seventeen, but they're still kids? Is there something wrong with me?" Joan asked with a frown.

"No, of course not. It is kind of odd, but I'm sure it's nothing too serious." Navi told Joan in an attempt to comfort her.

"... Why am I still alive? Aren't Kokiri suppose to die if we leave the woods? I always had that in the back of my mind but I didn't want to bring it up because I was scared of what the answer would be."

"... I-I'm sure there's a reason." Navi said. "Maybe the Great Deku Tree had another definition for death? Like, maybe by leaving the forest, Kokiri don't stay young? Or maybe being sealed in the Temple of Time just aged you?" Joan thought those ideas over and slowly nodded.

"Good point. That's probably it." Joan didn't sound too convinced, but she didn't really care about her small identity crisis right now. She wanted to find and save Saria before anything might happen to her, so she stood back up and began to walk through the woods. Her arms ready to draw both sword and shield if the need ever rise.

Joan and Navi had made it to the maze before the Forest Temple. However it was infested with humanoid, bulldog like enemies. Armed with spears ready to attack anyone in their way. Where exactly they came from, Joan didn't know. The chances however that Ganondorf was behind this somehow to prevent Saria from answering her call to become the Forest Sage were pretty high though.

"You should use your longshot to get up above and go over them. There's no way you can take them out. They wouldn't give you a chance."

"Alright, if you say so." Joan took took out her longshot and took aim for a thick tree branch over one of the maze walls and shot at it before allowing the chain to pull her on top. Joan had to bite her lip to keep herself from laughing. The longshot was kinda fun! Regardless, Joan leaped from one wall to the other until she made it to the end and ran towards the temple. To Joan's disappointment, Saria wasn't there. Joan walked to the stump she remembered seeing Saria sitting on and thought back. What did Saria do these last seven years? Was she in the temple now?

The sounds of feeting hitting the grass made Joan look sharply to her left with her sword ready. But she relaxed a little once she saw it was only the blonde Sheikah boy.

"Sheik! Is Saria inside already?" Joan immediately asked as she made her way towards him.

"That she is. However the dark forces have seeped in as well and are ready to take her away. It is your job to stop it." Sheik looked to the stump Joan had been looking at.

"The flow of time is always cruel. Its speed seems different for each person, but no one can change it. A thing that doesn't change with time is a memory of younger days." Sheik looked back to Joan before he took out his harp and tweaked a string or two. "In order to come back here again, play the Minuet of Forest."

Sheik began to play the song. There was a happiness in it. But yet sadness as if a person was remembering days that they would never have back again. Joan soon joined in on her ocarina, figuring out the right keys as fast as she could. Soon, they were playing in a perfect duet that was echoing out before the Forest Temple.

When they finished, Sheik put his harp away.

"Joan. we'll meet-"

"Wait, Sheik!" Joan cut him off quickly. "There's something else I gotta ask you!" Sheik didn't say anything for a moment, and Joan was wondering if he would even let her ask. Surprisingly he bowed his head as a sign that Joan could ask.

"What I was wondering is... Why are you helping me?" Joan had a serious look on her face. "You never said why exactly, and I think I have a right to know."

"... I help as much as I can, because it is the right thing to do, and my duty." Before Joan could even open her mouth, a deku nut was dropped ot the ground and Sheik vanished in the blinding light. That wasn't exactly what Joan had in mind for an answer, and something about it still didn't exactly answer her question. But there would hopefully be other opportunities to question Sheik, but Joan only had one thing in mind and that was to make sure that Saria was safe and that she would be able to become a sage, and remove what evil lied in the temple.

"Our first temple to get through. Nervous, Navi?" Joan asked as she looked up to the temple.

"No. I should be asking you that. And aren't you tired? You haven't slept since we left the Temple of Time."

"Just... Just a little." Joan insisted. "I'll be fine. I'll sleep once we're finished here. After that, we'll go visit the Deku Tree again."

"That'd be nice." Navi murmured as Joan aimed her longshot for a branch near to the temple entrance seeing how the staircase was crumbled at the bottom. "I think he would be proud to know how far we've come, and how far we'll go."

"... Yeah. Me too." Joan agreed before being pulled to the entrance.

* * *

**I wanna say thanks to everyone who has reviewed, and that I really appreciate it. Also just in case I don't get a chapter out today or tomorrow, I want to say that from July 30th to August 6th, I won't be here because of personal reasons and I won't have my laptop with me. Just saying just in case you're wondering why there aren't any new chapters between those dates.**


	16. The Forest Temple

The entrance room of the Forest Temple wasn't too much of a surprise as there was grass and two trees and ivy running up the walls. There were two wolfos with shaggy fur in the chamber but Joan was able to beat them, although she did get a claw mark on the bare part of her left arm and a couple more on her legs which did give a brief stinging sensation that slowly faded away.

The main hall of the temple however was different from what Joan expected. It was dark, dim and no signs of plant life. The center of the room had what looked like some sort of elevator ready to take someone down below the chamber, with a red, blue, green and purple flame on torches at different corners surrounding it. However there was someone else here who caused Joan to break into a run with a huge grin on her face.

"Saria!"

Indeed Saria was there. like the rest of the Kokiri she hadn't aged either and looked the same. The green haired girl was walking towards the elevator when she heard Joan and turned around to see her. Without thinking, Joan picked Saria up and swung her around, both girls breaking into laughter in joy of meeting again after so long apart.

"It's great to see you again, Joan." Saria said.

"Yeah. Who would have ever thought I'd be picking you up like this?" Joan sniggered as she put Saria down. Then something came to her. "Wait, you recognise me? How? No one else did."

"I just had a feeling it would be you. Besides, your the only person I can think of who would shout my name like that and run to me for a hug." Saria chuckled. Joan smile then turned into a frown.

"I'm sorry I was gone for so long."

"You don't have to apologise, but right now we have something more important to worry about." Saria had a serious look as she said this. "I've been called to fill a role as the Forest Sage. But I feel there is a terrible darkness here that needs to be gotten rid of."

"Don't worry, Saria! For tonight, I shall be the your friendly knight in shinning armour, ready to take out the bad guys!" Joan lightly joked. But then a cool breeze entered the room. "Get behind me." Joan ordered Saria as she frew her sword. Ready to face whatever villians were here. A soft popping sound was heard as four poes appeared, swaying side to side.

"I think your bow would be better suited." Saria whispered to Joan. The blonde gave a small nod as she put the Master Sword back in it's sheath and she reached back for her bow. However, and electric shock then hit Joan's side making her collapse to the ground with a small cry of pain. Feeling stunned and temporarily unable to do much moving other then a few twitches.

"Joan!" Saria went to Joan's side to check on her, only to suddenly be grabbed from the back of her tunic and pulled up. Hearing Saria give a sudden yelp, Joan forced herself to roll onto her back to see Ganondorf holding Saria! but was it really Ganondorf? His outlines seemed a bit blurred. Maybe he was only some sort of phantom created by the real Ganondorf?

"L-let her go!" Joan demanded as she tried to fight against the electric stun that was slowly fading from her body. But the man only laughed and stepped into the elevator as Saria struggled. He clicked his fingers and the poes stole the coloured lights which caused the elevator to descend below the temple. "N-no!" Joan pushed herself up and ran to the elevator, but it was already too late. The phantom had Saria.

"Dang it!" Joan growled as she stomped the floor with one foot. Hearing giggling, Joan looked up to see the poes giggling among themselves like girls fawning over boy. Joan quickly took out her bow and an arrow and quickly aimed for them. Releasing the point arrow, it pierced right through the red poe. Causing it to disperse into red flames and then nothing. The other three poes then vanished, terrified to be on the wrathful end of the girl.

"Joan! Look! The flame the poe was carrying returned to it's torch!" Navi cried, flying near the newly returned red flame. "Defeating the poes must return the flame! Come on, no time to waste!"

"Gotcha." Those poes weren't getting off easily. Joan would hunt them down throughout the temple if she had to. No matter what.

Admitably, hunting the remaining poes throughout the temple took longer then she had actually expected. The first one, a blue poe, constantly hid inside portraits and then vanish to another one if Joan came close. Joan however ended this poe by carefully aiming arrows at each portrait it was in from a distance until it had no where to hide and it was forced to fight Joan. Losing, and returning the blue flame to one of the torches.

The yellow poe was a bit different. It hide behind a portrait but when Joan shot her arrow through it, it caused blocks to fall down and nearly crush her. The blocks were meant to be a jigsaw of the poe and hearing a ticking noise in the background, Joan moved the blocks quickly as possible in order to complete the puzzle in time. Doing so, Joan ended up fighting the yellow poe and soon the green flame returned to it's rightful place.

The last poe, the purple one, was different. Joan found her in the hall where she first saw the poes. Weeping before the flames. Clearly they had been close, and Joan felt a tiny bit of remorse for the poe. But despite those feelings, Joan knew that she would only rescue Saria if she ended all of the poes, so she made her way towards the ghostly specter. It did notice her however and began to attack in it's own unique way. It created three copies of itself which left Joan having to guess which one was real and which was fake. A bit difficult but Joan was able to finally finish off the poe. Returning the last flame to it's torch.

With all four flames returned, the elevator rose again. Ready to take Joan down below.

"Ready?" Navi asked Joan as she paused before the elevator. Joan didn't say anything at first but stepped inside.

"For a friend. Always." Joan answered. The elevator then went down. Joan found herself in a chamber that was designed to have it's walls turned and to push certain buttons behind certain doors in order to get through the hallway Joan had to get through. The portraits on the walls were surprisingly dark for a temple like this, but Joan didn't have time to look at them and entered the final chamber.

It was an octangular shaped room with stairs leading to a platform that went onto to look around the room better. There were portraits on all the walls that all looked the same. A route with dead looking trees on either side leading to an dark, domineering looking castle. That's what all the portraits were. Except for one.

"Saria!" Joan ran to one portrait which was different. It had a completely black background, but Saria was in it. Her hands pressed against the invisible wall in front of her and her eyes frozen in fear. She wasn't moving and Joan was scared as to whether that was because she was a picture or something else.

But the portrait of Saria became completely black and the same image that the other portraits had melted onto it.

"No..." Sharp spikes then appeared, blocking Joan's only route of escape from the room, just as dark chuckling was heard. Turning around, Joan saw in the center of the room the phantom mimic of Ganondorf, on a black stallion that looked exactly like the one Joan had seen Ganondorf ride years ago to chase Princess Zelda and Impa. He only smiled as his head then changed into a skull head, as his horse rose from the ground and then galloped through one of the portraits, causing it to ripple like water.

Joan took out her bow and an arrow, and looked at each of the portraits. Sure that the phantom was going to leap out from one of them.

"Gotcha." Joan muttered as she spotted him begin to gallop down through the lifeless trees.

"No, he's there!" Joan turned to where Navi was looking and saw there was another Ganondorf. Joan was so shocked by this, and unsure which was the real one to shoot that when the real phantom's horse leaped from the portrait and threw a bolt of thunder to the ground, it nearly hit Joan.

"I think it's the lighter one that's real. Just aiming for him should work." Navi told Joan as the heroine took aim again. Joan prepared to shoot, and hearing galloping hooves she looked at all the paintings to see which one had the real phantom. It was a little hard to tell, but she shot at the one she thought was lighter then the other. Hitting it, it turned around. Only for this process to begin again.

After the next few shots, the phantom left the horse which galloped away in the painting. The phantom hovered in the air, holding a staff with magical energy residing in it. He shot a energy ball towards Joan and Joan hit it back with her sword, hoping to hit him with his own power. After a few hits it worked and it stunned him long enough for Joan to slash her blade at him, only for this to happen again and again until finally the final blow was dealt.

The phantom gave a scream of agony as blue flames began to consume him. He then hung limply in the air as Joan looked on, unsure whether to be concerned or not as the phantom seemed to slowly break apart like a flimsy statue. Then a voice was heard chuckling from nowhere as the phantom began to float into the center of the platform where purple lights were developing.

"Hey kid, you did quite well. It looks like you may be gaining some slight skill." Joan gritted her teeth. Ganondorf. No surprise, whatsoever. "But you have defeated only my phantom. When you fight the real me, it won't be so easy! What a worthless creation that ghost was! I will banish it to the gap between dimensions!"

The phantom began roaring in pain as he thrashed against an invisible force, trying to free itself. But it was all in vain as it broke apart and was absorbed into the purple lights.

Joan could only look on into the spot where the phantom was. She then looked sharply at all of the portraits, trying to figure out which was the one she saw Saria in before the fight. But she couldn't tell, and it worried Joan since she wasn't sure if Saria was still in the portraits or not.

However, a light headed feeling soon came to Joan and she put a hand against a wall to steady herself as her vision became white.

_When colour returned, Joan saw herself not in the forest temple but in the Chamber of the Sages. Joan looked around, expecting to see Rauru but instead someone else appeared in front of her. Safe and sound with a smile._

_"__Thank you, Joan." Saria said. "Because of you, I could awaken as a Sage. __I always believed that you would come. Because I know you."_

_"I'm glad you still have that kind of faith in me, Saria." Joan said with a weak smile. "But I still think I need to apologise for not visiting as soon as I should have."_

_"Don't worry about it__. You don't have to explain it to me. Because it is destiny __that you and I can't live in the same world."_

_"Not... What do you mean we can't live in the same world." Joan asked. Did this mean that after this, she and Saria would never see each other again? After meeting again for the first time in what for Joan was only days but Saria years?_

_"The original sages except Rauru were killed by Ganondorf. We have to take their places. __I will stay here as the Forest Sage and help you."_

_"I... Right, I see." Joan murmured. At least Saria was safe. That was important. _

_"Now, please take __this medallion."_

_A blinding light appeared and after it vanished, a shining emerald green medallion appeared hovering in front of Joan. With the symbol of the Forest Sage on it. Joan hesitantly took it in her hand and looked at it before she looked back up to Saria._

_"Saria. We're... We're still friends... Right?" Saria gave a small smile before holding up a wrist, and showing the bracelet Joan had given her the last time they had met._

_"I__ will always be your friend."_

Joan blinked and found herself back in the chamber. Looking around she then looked to her right gauntlet and saw the circle for the Forest Temple was coloured in green now.

"Did you talk to Saria?" Joan looked to Navi and gave a nod.

"Yeah. We talked... "Let's go. I wanna see the Deku Tree before we leave."

"Aren't you tired?" Navi asked.

"Yeah. But I don't feel comfortable sleeping here."

After leaving the Forest Temple and the Lost Woods, Joan was able to make her way past the Kokiri without them noticing to the Deku Tree. She did pause to make sure Epona was alright, but Fado seemed to be taking good care of her so she continued on.

The Great DekU Tree didn't appear as ashen grey as last time Joan saw him. But his bark was still dark, and there was no sense of life from him at all. It was a rather depressing sight actually and Joan was beginning to think it would have been better to come during the day. But she noticed something sticking out of the ground. Some sort of root with a leaf or two.

Joan was curious, and started to lean towards it. Wondering if it was anything in particular she needed to know about.

Suddenly it shot up at such speed that Joan feel back, yelling out in shock. Quickly getting over the shock, though the look was still on her face. Joan looked up at the cause of the sudden surprise. It looked like a giant seed, that was around the same height as Joan. It had a sort of smiley face on the front of it and a piece of leaf sticking out of the mouth of it.

"Hi there! I'm the Deku Tree Sprout!" The voice echoed out from the seed, though it's mouth didn't move. Much like how it was with the Deku Tree. "Because you and Saria broke the curse on the Forest Temple, I can grow and flourish! Thanks a lot!"

"I-It was nothing, really." Joan said as Navi fluttered her wings happily. "I just did what I had to do."

"It doesn't make it any less special though." The Deku Tree Sprout gave a small laugh before he continued on. "I think you've noticed how out of all the Kokiri, you're the only one who has aged. Am I right?" Joan's eyes widened and she nodded frantically.

"Y-yes, I have! Do you know why?"

"Well, as you might have already guessed, you are not a Kokiri! You are actually a Hylian!"

"I'm... I'm Hylian..." Joan thought this information out and in hindsight it was kinda obvious. She really should have expected something like this. She wasn't too sure what exactly the first clue was. Maybe the fact that she never had a fairy guardian until Navi for one. Maybe she should have noticed more how Hylians had pointed ears like Kokiri, or the blatant fact that she was still alive when Kokiri supposedly died if they left the forest. It actually kinda made Joan feel a bit stupid, but in her defense she was a bit too caught up with being the hero to actually focus on those details.

"Yes! I am happy to finally reveal this secret to you!"

"But... I grew up here all my life... What happened to my parents? Didn't they want me?" Joan asked sadly. If she was Hylian, that meant she would have had parents. But where were they? They couldn't have abandoned her.

Could they?

"Well Joan, some time ago, before the King of Hyrule unified this country, there was a fierce war in our world. One day, to escape from the fires of the war, a Hylian mother and her baby girl entered this forbidden forest. The mother was gravely injured. Her only choice was to entrust the child to the Deku Tree, the guardian spirit of the forest.

"The Deku Tree could sense that this was a child of destiny, whose fare would affect the entire world, so he took her into the forest. After the mother passed away, the baby was raised as a Kokiri. And now, finally, the day of destiny has come!"

Joan felt a little dizzy from this information and had to sit down. She had parents. Parents! But they were dead. She was an orphan. If she had never left the forest, what would have happened when she became bigger then everyone else? Mido would have probably tried to bully her, with Saria taking her side. It was the most likely scenario when Joan thought about it.

Joan wiped a tear away from her eyes as she thought more on the parents she never knew. Her mother was the only one confirmed dead. Could she still have a father? It was possible. Then again if her mother felt it necessary to flee the war, the chances of her father being dead were much higher.

"You are a Hylian, and were always bound to leave this forest. And now you have learned your own destiny. So you know what you must do."

"I... I have to save the land of Hyrule?" Joan guessed half heartedly.

"That's right!"

There was silence for a moment before Joan broke it, trying to keep her voice cracking.

"D-do you... Do you know what happened to my mum after she... She died?"

"She was buried down a path behind the Deku Tree. Not too far from here. I think her grave is marked so you should be able to find her."

"Than... Thank you." Joan stood back up.

"Take as long as you need." Joan heard the Deku Tree Sprout say as she continued on.

Like the Deku Tree Sprout had said, the grave was not too far from the Deku Tree. As far as Joan new, no one ever went behind the Great Deku Tree so she never had a chance to discover this grave. It was marked simply with a small pile of rocks, and two sticks tied to make a cross. Joan did briefly wonder who exactly did all this, but she decided she didn't care and was just glad her mother got a proper burial.

"Hi mum." Joan said weakly as she sat down. "Sorry I haven't visited. Didn't even know you existed till now." Joan paused as she took a deep breath and held back some tears. "It's weird. I only discover you now and I'm already imagining so much stuff we missed out on. Birthdays, holidays. You giving out to me for pulling a prank..." Joan chuckled weakly as she wiped away more tears.

"I'm not sure if this is the life you wanted me to have. Probably not. But, I'm gonna fight on. I wanna make you proud mum. And dad too." Joan noticed something hanging on the cross. A simple necklace with a circle pendant. Curious, Joan took the pendant and looked at it. Engraved on the front of it was some sort of flying bird, while on the back of it was a single name. Aya.

"Was your name Aya?" Joan asked. "I think it's a pretty name." Joan looked at the grave and then the pendant before she put it around her neck. "Sorry mum, but I kinda want to have a part of you with me. I doubt I'll ever find something else. It'll be like a good luck charm." Joan took another few deep breaths before letting some tears drop. However she quickly wiped away the rest as she stood up.

"I kinda have to go now mum. But I'll visit soon if I get the chance. I promise." Joan kneeled down to give the top of the cross a kiss before she turned around and began to make her way back."

"You sure you don't want to stay any longer?" Navi asked.

"I... I just wanna leave and sleep somewhere." Joan mumbled.

"Take the next day or two off. After today, you deserve it." Navi told Joan. Joan didn't respond but she made it back to the small Kokiri village where Fado was petting her horse's nose.

"She's soo cute." Fado grinned as Joan came back.

"Yeah, she is." Joan said with a forced smile. The younger blonde noticed however and frowned.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Just tired is all." Joan answered.

"Hey, you!" Joan silently sighed and turned to see Mido along with a few other Kokiri.

"Yeah?"

"Where's Saria?" He demanded. Joan rubbed some tiredness from her eyes and decided to just be blunt as possible.

"She's become the Forest Sage and won't be back for a while. If ever."

"Oh...I see... Saria won't ever come back" Joan was surprised by the fact that Mido seemed to instantly loose his somewhat stuck up personality.

"I'm guessing you too were really good friends or something?"

"Sort of," Mido mumbled. "But I... I made a promise to Saria... It was that if Joan came back, I would be sure to tell her that Saria had been waiting for her. The two of them were really great friends."

"I'm... I'm sure Joan knows that." Joan mumbled as she mindlessly patted Epona's coat. Mido looked Joan directly in the eye and pointed to her.

"Hey, you. If you see her somewhere, please let her know that."

"Sure thing." Joan shrugged. Not like she needed to. Mido kinda did it for her. Mido then frowned and almost looked guilty.

"And also... Coudl you tell Joan that... I'm sorry for being mean to her. Tell him that, too."

Joan stared down at Mido. Mido actually apologised to her. It was something she never thought would happen. Feeling a need to pick up her spirits, Joan's mouth started to twitch into a smile and she walked over to Mido and squatted down in front of him before patting the top of his head, causing the boy to scowl a little.

"... Glad to know you actually have a conscious Mildew." Joan said with a cheeky grin before she stood up. She only looked at the faces of the Kokiri long enough for realization to dawn on their faces. Mido's jaw was nearly touching the ground.

"J-Joan?!" Joan was already on her horse and laughing a little as she started Epona on a trot that slowly became a gallop.

"Bye! I might come visit if I get the chance!" Joan called over her shoulder as she made her way back towards Hyrule Field.

She was tired. She was happy. She was sad and torn. She had gained and lost today. She found out about a family she may never know and that even as a baby the Deku Tree thought of her as special. Joan promised that she would make all those she cared about proud of her. Even if she could not physically see them, the idea that knowing they cared about her from when she was a baby and onwards made Joan feel some confidence.

Confidence mingled with sorrow.


	17. A Small Break

Upon Navi's insistence, Joan had taken the next day off to rest after the events at the Lon Lon Ranch and in Kokiri Forest. A lot had happened that day both mentally and physically, and seeing how Joan had been working nearly nonstop since she first started this quest she deserved it. So she just relaxed by the riverside, dipping her bare feet into the water as Epona grazed close by.

"So where should we head next?" Joan asked Navi as she lazily looked at her mother's pendant. Running her finger over the bird engraved on it.

"Well, something looks a bit suspicious about Death Mountain. The smoke looks kinda strange to put it lightly." Leaning her head back, Joan could just see the dark red smoke clouds around the volcano. It looked intimidating and had looked like it could be dangerous.

"Hmm... What do you think could be going on in there?"

"We'll find out tomorrow once you've rested. I really think you tried to do too much in one day." Navi told Joan. Joan lightly shrugged and laid back in the grass. Lightly kicking her feet.

"Well, I'm the hero. Heros do that kind of stuff. Don't they?"

"You're the only hero I know."

"Then as far as you know, this is what heros do." Joan smiled a little as she enjoyed the warm breeze.

"Just don't try to overdo it. You'll only tire yourself out if you do."

"I know, I know." Joan mumbled. "I'll relax today, then tomorrow we'll head to Death Mountain and become a step closer to ending this evil in Hyrule! Nothing can stop us!"

"Alright then." Navi agreed with amusement.

"Glad to hear you agree." Joan kicked one leg up from the water and shuck some water droplets off of it before holding it up high and wiggling her toes. "But there's still some stuff I'm wondering about. Do you think Sheik really is on our side?"

"He hasn't really given us a reason to doubt him, so why?"

"I don't know." Joan sighed. "He just seems a bit... Vague? I think. But I guess with all this evil about, the paranoia of someone working with Ganondorf is there a bit."

"Well don't worry about it now. He's doing what he can, and that's all that's important."

"Guess you're right. And is it just me, or is he kinda cute?" Joan asked with a small grin.

"Seriously? You can't even see his face." If Joan could see Navi's face, she would have seen the blue fairy raising a questionable eyebrow.

"I think it's his mysterious aura."

"I don't think it would work out between you two. He doesn't seem like the dating type." Navi stated bluntly, causing Joan to pout as she lightly splashed her legs in the cool, running water.

"It could work if I asked him out~"

"You don't know that."

"Neither do you." Joan pointed out playfully.

"As cute as it is to see you experience a first crush, don't let it cloud your mind." Navi sighed.

"Pfft. Don't worry. I'm not some girly girl that will just drop everything for some boy. Work comes first."

"Good to know you have your priorities straight."

"Of course I do." Joan sat up and looked at her reflection in the water. "Do you think wherever Zelda and Impa are, they're safe?"

"I'm sure they are. Impa's a Sheikah and if Sheik is a good example of what they're like, I'm confident that Zelda is in very capable hands. Besides, I think she's got a fairly good head on her shoulders so I think she would be able to look out for herself at this stage. She would be around your age now, wouldn't she?"

"Good point." Navi flew over Joan's shoulder and looked down at the water too. They didn't say anything else until Navi broke the silence.

"Joan? We're friend, right?" Navi's questioned was a bit of a surprise for Joan, but regardless she slowly nodded.

"Well... Yeah. Of course. We're not just partners, we're friends and always will be. Why'd ya ask?"

"It's just that... I had a nightmare last night." Navi sounded unhappy as she mentioned this and Joan sat up a little straighter as she looked and the fairy. She held the palm of her hand out. Offering Navi to sit on it.

"Do you wanna talk about it?" Joan asked kindly. Navi didn't say anything at first, but she eventually fluttered her wings towards Joan's open hand and sat down on it. Joan felt a small tingle in her hand where Navi sat, and she could feel how incredibly light the fairy was.

"I dreamed that you just gave up. You gave up on everything and everyone, and pledged allegiance to Ganondorf." Navi began. "I tried to find you but I couldn't find a trace of you anywhere! Then, I saw that a fire started in Kakariko so I flew there and I saw you just calmly watching! But you looked different. More like a literally living shadow! With glowing red eyes.

"I flew towards you and tried to reason with you, but you just swatted me away coldly. It tried again but you hit me into a wall and said I was useless and never did anything for you, and that you hoped I died before-!"

"Stop right there." Joan cut Navi out. The fairy sounded like she was holding back some tears and it was breaking Joan's heart a little. "Navi, listen. You're not useless. You've given me advice, you've been my friend and you're there to comfort me. I know there's only so much you can do, but what you do do is appreciated. A lot. We'll always be friends. Always."

"... Thank you." Joan could faintly hear Navi sniffle a little and tried to think of something to change the subject.

"Hey, how about we try to cheer up by, uh... OH! Creating a nickname for Ganondorf?" Joan suggested.

"That could be fun. Um... Ganondork?"

"Meh, too easy." Joan deadpanned. "How about... Got-No-Life?"

"Doesn't really sound too right. Oh, Old Man Dorf? Old Man Dork?"

"We're getting better, I think." Joan said, smiling when Navi sounded happier then before. "OH! Balding-dork! 'Cause his hair up makes it look like he's loosing hair!" Both females were sniggering at their little jokes. Feeling peace in a calm place. Joan looked over to Epona and smiled as she pulled her boots back on.

"Come on. I feel like going for a ride on Epona."

While the day had been enjoyable and relaxing, Joan made her way to Kakariko and left Epona in a stable with the owners permission. She didn't feel that it would be safe to bring Epona with her to Death Mountain and there could have been some inaccessible parts for the horse. But it wasn't really a bad thing since Epona would just be resting in the stable and nourishing herself.

Joan had just finished buying some supplies she would need and had left the Bazaar and went to stretch her legs and was near the windmill when she noticed the door was open. Curious, she walked towards it and looked inside. She saw a bald, bare footed man playing a phonograph. He was grumbling something under his breath, and Joan couldn't help but walk inside.

"Er... Are you okay sir?"

"What do you want?!" He snapped, causing Joan to flinch a little before she cleared her throat nervously.

"I saw your door open and noticed you were here on your own. Are you okay?"

"I'm sorry, it's just..." The man sighed and looked up. "I'm still a bit bitter about what happened all those years ago. I was hear, innocently playing my phonograph when this little girl appeared. She... She kinda dressed similar to you I think..." He paused as if thinking something over but shuck his head and muttered something before continuing. "Anyway, I wanted a song that would represent the windmill perfectly!" He then growled in annoyance. "And that girl played a song on her ocarina alright. It caused a damn storm to brew up here and and it overworked the windmill and dried up the well!"

Joan furrowed her eyebrows as she thought this over. Could it be possible that this mystery girl was her? She didn't know a song like that, but it sounded kinda cool.

"Do you still remember the song?" Joan asked as she pressed her hand against the ocarina in her pocket.

"Actually, I do. Luckily I haven't caused a storm to happen." He gave a weak laugh. "Do you want to learn?"

"Sure!" Joan took out her ocarina. Immediately the man looked weary.

"A blue... ocarina... No! Just a coincidence. A coinidence! Okay, listen."

The man played the song first and when he finished Joan took her turn playing it. After a couple tries she knew she had it perfect as it started a rainstorm inside the windmill. Joan was grinning for the first few milliseconds but the look on the man's face caused it to turn into a frown. He looked ready to burst into screaming. Navi then whispered urgently in Joan's ear.

"Joan, run!"

"Right ahead of ya!"

"GET OUT OF MY WINDMILL!"

"Faster Joan!"

Joan did run out of the windmill before the windmill man could think of chasing after her. She hid behind a corner of a wall and stayed there. Too scared to move anywhere else on the off chance that perhaps the man did decide to chase her. After a couple moments, Joan released a breath she hadn't known she was holding.

"THAT, was close." Joan sighed before she looked to the mountain top with it's tainted halo cloud. "Come on. Let's get up Death Mountain. Maybe the Gorons will know what's going on. It'll be good to see Darunia anyway."

"As long as they don't try to hug you?" Navi lightly joked and Joan chuckled.

"But of course! I like to have air in my lungs, thank you very much."

Joan felt thankful she left Epona back in Kakariko as she made her way up the mountain trail. The ground would rumble every now and then and the smell of sulfer mixed with rotten eggs was around, which no doubt with have possibly scared the young horse. But Joan continued to make her way up to the Goron City and tried to imagine how they were doing. Joan expected them to be at least concerned about the volcanic activities of the mountain lately. They might be pleased to see her, though she couldn't really guarantee that. But hopefully the volcano would be the only thing to be on the list of problems.

But as Joan neared the entrance to the Goron City, she noticed that there wasn't much noise as usual. Last time she was here, she could remember faintly hearing the rumbles of Gorons rolling here and there throughout the underground city. But there didn't seem to be as much today. However, the Hylian just shrugged, thinking that is was just the volcano putting everyone off of rolling and made her way through the entrance. Hoping that if there was a problem with the volcano she had to fix, she wouldn't have to go underground or at the very least be given something to protect her from the intense heat. It wouldn't be a good thing after all for her to die of heat exhaustion this far into her adventure and not even come close to defeating Ganondorf.


	18. The Fire Temple

The inside of the Goron City seemed almost vacant when Joan entered. There were no Gorons to be seen and Joan tried to think of a reason for that. She wasn't sure if calling out to see who was here would be a good idea, and the odds of all of them having a nap at the exact same time was about as likely as Ganondorf putting on a bright pink tutu with purple stars and dancing on top of Hyrule Castle for all to see while wearing no underwear!

Joan immediately shivered from the mental image she regretted immensely and hoped that it wouldn't haunt her to her grave.

Looking to the doorway leading to the chamber she first met Darunia, Joan began to make her way there. Believing Darunia was bound to be here. But then something heavy rolled into the side of Joan's leg causing her to fall to the ground and the object to stop. Looking to see the exact cause, Joan saw that it was a small Goron, possibly a child, rolled up in a ball.

"Sorry, are you-"

"How could you do this to me?" the Goron shouted out. Trying to sound brave though his voice was wavering. Joan however wasn't going to stop him though and let him continue speaking. "You-you're Ganondorf's servant! Hear my name and tremble! I am Joan! Hero of the Gorons!"

Joan widened her eyes at the Goron's name. It was a bit odd to hear someone have the same name as you, and Joan never really thought to expect anything like this. Then again, what were the odds she would even be in the situation she was in now? Deciding to try and talk to the kid and use their names to build common ground to get him to trust her, Joan spoke out to him as she squatted down.

"Well, it's nice to meet you, um... Joan. I actually have the same name." Almost immediately the Goron unfurled itself from its ball and looked up at Joan as she stood up. Compared to the other Gorons Joan had seen, he was pretty small. But he had a looked up at Joan as if it was the happiest moment of his young life. Almost in awe really.

"What? Your name is also Joan?"

"Well, yeah."

"Then you must be the legendary Dodongo Buster and Hero, Joan!"

"Well, if it's anything to do with that giant dodongo I took care of seven years ago, then I guess that's me. Am I really called that here?" Joan felt a little flattered that the Gorons had given her that title. She didn't really need it since she was happy enough with the title of 'Hero of Time', but she doubted she would have really been able to change their minds somehow.

"Yeah! A lot of the adults told the story of how you went down and killed King Dodongo when you were only a child! My dad is Darunia... Do you remember him?"

"Of course," Joan said with a small smile before adding as a little joke, "I couldn't forget him. With his dancing it's hard to."

"Well dad named me Joan after you, because you're so brave! It's a cool name! I really like it!" Now Joan wasn't sure what to say, feeling a bit shocked that Darunia would name his son after her. She was deeply touched though, not thinking she had that much of an impact on the Gorons. A bit of her did question whether naming the young Goron 'Joan' was a good idea but it didn't sound too much like a girl's name, and it sounded similar to John so she supposed the Goron was lucky Joan's Hylian parents had given her that name if Darunia was going to give his son the same name.

"I didn't realise how much I meant to all of you. I'm glad you like my name though"

"You're a hero of us Gorons!" The young boy's look turned into one of admiration. "I'm so glad to meet you! Please give me your autograph! Sign it: 'To my friend, Joan of the Gorons'. Okay, now Joan was feeling a bit uncomfortable with the whole admiration thing, but if the kid really looked up to her so much she couldn't just blow him off like that.

"Um... Not just yet. I kinda noticed the cloud around Death Mountain was kinda funny so I came to investigate and since you're the only Goron I can find so far, can you tell me what's going on?" The younger Joan then frowned and tears began to prick at his eyes. Joan was beginning to wonder if she should have rephrased that.

"Oh... I guess it's not a good time to ask you for this, but... Please help everyone! My dad, Darunia, went to the Fire Temple. A dragon is inside! If we don't hurry up, even my dad will be eaten by the dragon!" The Goron began to break into tears and start crying as Joan let the words sink in. Looking at the kid, Joan tried to think of some way to comfort him.

"Um... Look, I'm gonna help to the best of my ability." Joan said, trying to comfort the boy. "But I need to know what dragon you're talking about." Joan sniffed and wiped away some of his leaking tears.

"Well... A long time ago there was an evil dragon named Volvagia living in this mountain. That dragon was very scary! He ate Gorons! Using a huge hammer, the hero of the Gorons... BOOOM!" He slammed his hands together loudly. "Destroyed it just like that. This is a myth from long ago, but it's true! I know, because my dad is a descendant of the hero!"

"Alright, and what about the Gorons?" Joan asked quickly, hoping he wouldn't start crying again.

"Nearly everyone was taken to the Fire Temple. While my dad was out, Ganondorf's followers came and took them all away! All of them will be eaten by Volvagia! Dad said that Ganondorf has revived Volvagia, as a warning to those who might oppose him, Ganondorf is going to feed them all to Volvagia! There are still some here, but they're too scared to leave their homes."

"I see..." Joan murmured. "I guess I'll have to see what I can do to help then. Where's your father?"

"Dad went to the Fire Temple all by himself to try to save everyone. Please help, Joan!"

"You don't need to ask." Joan said as she patted the young Goron's head. "Just tell me where the Fire Temple is exactly."

"Okay, but you're going to need this." He held out a sort of headgear consisting of red fabric worn with a band to be worn around the head keep it in place. "Dad said that the heat didn't really agree with you and he thought you might actually come to help. So he gave me this to give to you. He said it would help" He explained as Joan took the headgear from him. After taking a look over it, Joan put it on. She didn't feel any different, but she would trust that it would help her once she was in the temple.

"The entrance to the Fire Temple is behind the statue in dad's room. You have to pull it out to get inside."

"Thanks." Joan nodded. "You wait here while I go find your dad and the others."

"Thank you very much." Joan just gave a smile to the male Joan.

"Don't worry about it."

Like the Goron Joan had said, Joan only had to pull the statue in Daunia's room out to get access to the temple. The temple's entrance itself however was in a crater of the volcano. The fumes from the lava had a more horrible smell here then when Joan was making her way to Goron City.

"Ugh. Stinks!"

"Yeah, but how do you feel?" Navi asked Joan as she looked at Joan's headgear. Joan blinked, having only realised now that she still felt fine and was suffering no ill effects of the volcanic activity. At least, not yet.

"I... I feel okay actually. I feel alright!" Joan grinned happily and made a mental note to thank Darunia as soon as she got the chance.

"That's brilliant! Now come on, we have to save the Gorons!"

Joan quickly made her way through the crater, greatful that so far all she had to worry about was puking because of the dreadful smell. After using her longshot to get across a partially broken suspended bridge, Joan had only gone about halfway across the bridge when a familiar face dropped down from nowhere on the other side.

"Sheik?" Joan would have felt surprised, but at the same time it felt that it wasn't really too shocking to see the blonde Sheikah in front of her now.

"It's good to see you are prepared for the intense heat of the fire temple." Sheik said as he glanced to Joan's head wear. "But first I have a question for you. Like a plant, what is something that grows over time?" Joan put a hand to her chin as she thought about it. She couldn't honestly say she had a clear idea so not afraid to admit she didn't know, she gave a slightly sheepish shrug of her shoulders.

"Not sure really."

"A true friendship." Sheik answered. "A feeling in the heart that becomes even stronger over time. The passion of friendship will soon blossom into a righteous power and through it, you will know which way to go."

"Is this to do with Darunia?"

"It is." Sheik responded as he readied his harp, causing Joan to take out her ocarina out of instinct. "This song is dedicated to the power of the heart. Listen to the Bolero of Fire." The tune did have a feeling of friendship in it. Like traveling a long distance from a foreign land to see a friend after so long. It actually reminded Joan of how she met up with Saria after the long time period.

"Joan... I'll see you again." Sheik promised as he put his harp away.

"Wait, why-" Joan had begun walking towards the young Sheikah when fire rose up. Blocking the Hylian from reaching Sheik who used the chance to vanish with the use of a deku nut. Once he vanished, the flames went down.

"How did he even...?" Joan looked down at the wood of the bridge. Seeing no signs of the fire that had been there.

"We should keep going Joan. Darunia and the other Gorons need us." Navi said.

The entrance of the Fire Temple seemed cooler compared to the volcanic crater, albeit the lighting was eerie and gave a feeling that it was hinting to the danger within the temple. Further on in the temple Joan had to jump over pits of lava and while the heat didn't bother her too much, there was sweat coming down her forehead.

It was when Joan was moving through a tunnel that she stopped, having heard a rumbling sound. Whether the cause was friendly or not, Joan couldn't tell. But she took out her shield and prepared to draw out her sword if necessary. The rumbling came closer and closer, until Joan was almost certain it was coming from the direction she was heading.

The dim lighting made it hard to see at first, but the moment Joan saw a Goron heading her direction she jumped to the side. Thinking it was someone who escaped and trying to make their way out. However a little way after passing Joan, the rolling Goron stopped and unfurled itself. Joan felt a smile etched onto her face as she saw Darunia. He didn't seem too different from when Joan last saw him, but he had a smile of his own once he saw Joan.

"It's good to see you again Joan! You've grown so big since I last saw you!" He said as he walked over to the blonde girl and gave her a pat on the head, which like last time knocked her to the ground. Darunia didn't seem to notice too much as Joan quickly got back up.

"Nice to see you too. Thanks for the headgear by the way."

"Then you've met my son then?"

"Yeah. He was very nice." Joan said. "I'm actually surprised you named him after me."

"Well, no offense but I did have someone check to make sure your name could be used for a boy. Just to make sure it would still work for him." Darunia lightly shrugged.

"I understand, but I don't think now is a good time to talk about that stuff. I was told Ganondorf's been causing trouble here."

"And you're correct." Darunia confirmed grimly. "Ganondorf is causing trouble on Death Mountain again! He has revived the evil, ancient dragon Volvagia! On top of that, he is going to feed my people to that evil dragon as a warning to other races that might resist him. If that fire-breathing dragon escapes from the mountain, all of Hyrule will become a burning wasteland!"

It wasn't a pleasant thought. Most of Hyrule seemed to have enough chaos already without it become a barren wasteland of fire and ash. Then there were the living things to consider. What would happen to them? Joan already had the answer in her mind, but she put it in the back of her mind. Not wanting to think such grim things.

"We need to save my people first. I already got most of them out, and the'ye leaving through another passageway. I was on the way to save the others when I heard you coming and I thought it was one of Ganondorf's minions. After we save them, we'll have to find the legendary hammer. It's the only thing that will end Volvagia!"

"Of course!" Joan hastily agreed. "Lets get going!"

The cells that the remaining Gorons weren't too far ahead from where Joan and Darunia were. There were some foes to fight (Humanoid lizards called lizalfos being one of them), but they were relatively easy. Joan was actually thankful for the luck she had received in the form of Darunia at that moment. While he was kinda rude, he was definitely good at fighting. Whether it was just natural or if it was inspired by a need to help his people, Joan didn't really care at the moment. The cells were large, filled with Gorons of different ages and genders. All in one long, narrow passageway.

The locks on said cells were strong to a certain degree in that Gorons couldn't break them open. It felt like a lot in Joan's mind considering how most Gorons always seemed so strong to her. But Joan soon looked surprised when she saw Darunia hold up a key for the locks. Darunia must have spotted the look as he then said,

"How do you think I got the others out? I took down every foe in my way until I found the master key!"

Joan didn't respond except for a sheepish look. Maybe the heat was effecting her just enough not to really think about some details? But it didn't matter really, as soon Goron after Goron fled the cells and left in the direction Darunia gave towards the safest way out of the temple.

"So now we look for the hammer. Right?" Joan asked as the last of the newly freed Gorons left their prisons.

"Of course. I know where we need to look-" Darunia was cut off by the shaking of the earth. Tiny bits of rubble falling down from the ceiling above.

"What was that? Was that Volvagia?"

"I'm afraid it likely is. We have to get going. Now!"

Finding the chamber where the legendary hammer was possibly would have been trickier for Joan if Darunia hadn't been there to lead the way. It was octangular shaped with two sets of stairways that led to a platform with a chest that no doubt held the hammer they were seeking. Guarded by fire. The other staircase led almost directly to the chest. However it was over a chasm and was rather narrow making whoever would cross receive questions about their sanity, or will to live.

"Inside that chest is the Megaton Hammer." Darunia said as he pointed towards the chest before making his way to a switch that looked a bit grimy from age. "You go up the platform and when you're up there I'll press the switch to lower the flames."

"Alright." If Joan was doing this alone, she would have been more nervous. But with some time on her side for this, she simply walked up the more narrow stairs to save some more time and watched as the fire dispersed after Darunia pressed the switch.

Opening the chest, Joan looked at the hammer with some interest. It wasn't too showy. It was simply made of cool metal with a brown, leather handle. If Joan had not still been wearing the Goron bracelet, she probably wouldn't have been able to lift it up as she did now.

"I got it!" Joan called to Darunia. Holding the hammer up enough to see him as he walked near the narrow staircase.

"Good! Now Volvagia should be in the final chamber so we-" However the chamber shuck with much more force then the previous rumblings. Possibly caused by the Goron tormenting Dragon. Parts of the ceiling had dropped down. One nearly hit Joan's head and would have had she noticed quickly and moved to the side. Darunia however was not as fortunate. While dodging a ceiling piece of his own his footing slipped over the edge causing him, to Joan's horror, slip into the dark, unknown chasm.

"Darunia! Are you okay?!" Joan dropped to her knees and looked over the edge, frantic as she tried to see or hear any signs that Darunia was alright.

"Joan! Watch out!" Joan dodged tot he side as Navi cried. Narrowly missing a lump of rock. Joan looked back into the bleak pit as the rumbling slowly ceased.

"No... He... He could be okay. Right?" Joan asked Navi, sounding unsure as she tried to tell herself that everything was okay.

"I... Well... We don't know what's down there so there is a chance..." Navi didn't sound too convincing, but Joan took it anyway as she stood up and attached the hammer to her belt.

"Then... Then lets keep going. I'm sure that's what he would have wanted. We may as well take care of Volvagia."

While a part of Joan did feel guilty about continuing on without Darunia, she knew it was for the best. There was only so much time they could afford, and whatever was down in that pit it didn't seem worth the risk of just jumping in and finding out what it was. The trip towards the final chamber was mostly silent except for the occasional shaking of the earth and foe to fight. But Joan did manage to get there.

Inside was a platform surrounded by lava, with pillars around the walls of the chamber. There were also holes in the platform surface that had a glow of the lava eerily coming out of them. It was obvious no good could come from jumping onto it, but with no other option visible, Erika did just that. She had only taken a few steps foreword when the platform shuck. The force being the strongest yet.

It was from the center hole that the dragon emerged from as it billowed orange smoke. Volvagia was a long and snake-like. His skin had a shimmering texture like the lava surrounding the platform, with a fiery mane on top of it's head which seemed to make it's cruel green eyes glow more then they already did. It breathed fire into the air as it gently glided through the air before returning to the hole it came from.

Joan couldn't tell if it was the right thing to do right now, but she took the hammer into her hands and gripped the handle tightly as she looked in the hole. Hearing a roar behind her, Joan turned and just barely moved out of the way as the dragon tried to breath fire on her back, before slicking back down. Joan looked around the holes anxiously. Hoping for some sort of sign of where the dragon would emerge from exactly. But then she remembered of how the dragon first appeared from the center hole. There was smoke before it came out. Could that be the clue?

Joan glanced furiously between all possible routes until one hole close by started to smoke. Joan quickly ran to it and raised the hammer. Joan seemed to have been correct in her assumption as she heard a roar coming from it and after waiting for the right moment, as soon as Joan saw the fiery mane she brought the hammer down with all the force she could give.

While it did not end the dragon, it did seem to stun it temporally and Joan decided to use this chance to draw her sword and attack around it's head and neck. The dragon however once it snapped out of it's stun growled out loudly in pain and returned to it's hole.

The pattern after that was rather simple. Though the dragon did occasionally rise into the air and breath fire and causes more rubble to fall down. Most of the attacks were dodgeable except for one which ended up with Erika's left shoulder being burned. It hurt a lot, but Joan forced her mind off the pain to continue fighting.

But the end soon came as Joan gave the final strike with her sword right down on it's head. Volvagia screeched loudly as it clutched it's head with it's claws before rising up in the air, writhing in agony as it slowly burned up into nothing but a singed skeleton and fell to the ground. The bones breaking with sickening cracks.

"Well... The hero always fought the dragon in storybooks so this was something that was always going to happen." Joan said out loud as she dropped onto the ground in a sitting position and clutched her burnt shoulder. It was too bad in Joan's opinion. It just looked like raw skin. Though Joan knew that she would have to go to the Fairy's Fountain as soon as she left the temple. Not something she would consider completely pleasant considering how the fairy unnerved her a little.

"When you put it like that..." Those were the only words Joan heard from Navi as the world became white to her.

_When the white did fade away, Joan was not surprised to find herself in the Chamber of the Sages. No doubt to speak with the Sage of Fire. Who the sage was however was pretty shocking._

_"Darunia?!" Across from Joan was a smiling Darunia. At least this meant Darunia didn't die. At least, that's what Joan assumed since he was here in front of her._

_"Thank you, Sister! I really appreciate what you did. I thank you on behalf of the entire Goron race!"_

_"Thanks, Darunia. But it was nothing, really. I just did what was right." Joan answered sheepishly as she scratched the back of her head. "I'm sorry I couldn't help you after your fall."_

_"Don't think about it. Stopping Vovagia was much more important." Darunia waved it off._

_"Well... What should I do with the hammer then." Joan asked. "I mean, it is the legendary hammer of the Gorons according to your son. Wouldn't it be kind of sacred to your people?"_

_"... How about, you have a loan of it until you've ended Ganondorf's reign?" The smile on Darunia's face as he said that made Joan grin a little._

_"How can I refuse an offer like that then?" Darunia let out a loud laugh before he continued._

_"Isn't that funny, Sister? That I, the wild Darunia, turned out to be the great Sage of Fire? Well, this must be what they call destiny. Nothing has made me happier than helping you seal the evil here!"_

_"And I can say the same right back."_

_"Well, take this! This is a Medallion that contains the power of the fire spirits-and my friendship."_

_As Darunia raised his arms, the familiar flash of light appeared before a red medallion with the symbol of the Fire Temple engraved in it appeared before Joan who happily accepted it._

_"And Joan, don't forget," said Darunia. "Now you and I are true Kin!"_

As soon as Joan blinked she was back in the chamber she had ended Volvagia's terror and looked immediately to her right gauntlet. One circle space now coloured in red.

"Well... Darunia's alright." Joan told Navi as she stood up, giving a small wince as from the pain in her shoulder.

"That's good, but we should go to the Fairy's Fountain right away so your shoulder doesn't get anymore damged then it has been." Navi said. Joan could tell she was just as relieved as she was that Darunia was alright. But she mentally cringed at Navi's insistence to see the fairy. While she knew she had to, a tiny part of her hoped that maybe they could 'accidently' walk by and not notice. Regardless of personal feelings, Joan began to make her way outside the temple.

"First thing though Navi. I think I kinda need to talk to uh... Joan." It was the right thing to do really. Whether of not Darunia would every come back to the Gorons was uncertain, but it felt only right to let his son know.

"That's probably a good idea." Navi murmured gently, sounding slightly sad. She too was probably sad that Joan of the Gorons may never see his dad again for all they knew.

"Yeah." Joan twitched a tiny smile as she thought of something. "Would it be bad to write an autograph for him now? I never did actually decline his request."

"Can you actually write with a damaged shoulder?"

"Pfft. Just a shoulder. Hardly gonna stop me writing. Besides while I am left handed, I learned to write with my right." Joan said casually.

"Why?"

"I think I found it easier. Can't remember why exactly." Joan shrugged.

Making her way towards the exit, Joan felt a little nervous about what to say. She could already make out the cheers of released Gorons, possibly assuming their leader would return shortly with tails of bravery, with all listening to each word. Especially his son no doubt. Maybe throw in a few good words for Joan. Joan tried to imagine how they would feel once they heard the news. But thinking it over, Joan felt that there would definitely be sorrow. But also joy perhaps as they remembered their leader with fondness.

It also made Joan question how she would be remembered. Knowing she was never Kokiri and in fact Hylian, Joan knew that even if she survived her quest, old age would always loom nearby. The fact that she had seven years taken from her life didn't exactly help that morbid thought either. But as Joan stood by the exit, trying to prepare herself for possible hugs, she shuck the thoughts from her head.

There was only one day in tomorrow. The death in the future was years and years away.

* * *

**I hoped you liked the first chapter after my week long absence. I would have posted it yesterday but I got a bit sick. I'm a bit better now (or I am compared to yesterday) so I figured I'd finish and post this now and hope you guys will find this chapter worth the wait. I hate to keep my viewers waiting.**


	19. Irina

When Joan did tell the Gorons of the fate of their leader, they took it better then Joan expected. There were some tears but that was to be expected. Even Darunia's son seemed to take it as well as a kid could, though there was still some tears. But Joan didn't stay too long. Instead, after saying necessary goodbyes, Joan made her way to the Fairy's Fountain to heal her burnt shoulder and afterwards decided to rest there for the night. She was sure Epona would be alright in the stable for the night as long as Joan went straight to her once she got back to Kakariko.

Then, she had that dream.

_Joan wasn't too sure exactly where she was now, or where Navi or Epona were either. It looked like Hyrule field but there was no sign of Castle Town, Lon Lon Ranch or any other familiar places. Only hills, trees and rocks._

_"Navi? You out here? Navi?" Joan called out loudly as she walked. But there was no response. Frowning, Joan continued on her walk as she tried to remember what happened. Looking down on herself, Joan was surprised that she had her ten year old body back. Whether this was a good or bad thing was hard to tell, but right now, __she had to figure out where she was._

_The sky was a clear blue with white clouds of various shapes, and the air was warm. So it seemed she was safe here... Hopefully._

_What if this was the Sacred Realm? Zelda did say it would reflect the person who was in it, so it wouldn't be too ridiculous. Would it?_

_Oh... No. The Sacred Realm was tainted by Ganondorf, wasn't it? So this couldn't be it._

_The faint sound of water caught Joan's attention and she froze. Listening out for the sound. It didn't sound like a river, but Joan followed the sound anyway. Not like there was anything else to do._

_Joan soon found the source of the sound. Lake Hylia. At least there was one familiar sight here. Joan smiled faintly as she looked over the water. She remembered swimming here from the Zora's Domain. It was a shame she didn't have Navi here to enjoy this with her. It would be so..._

_Joan then noticed something. On the small island with the white, leafless tree. There was a figure standing there. Joan squinted but she could only make out green. Since the bridge was accessible by two ropes bridges, Joan decided to see who this person was and made her way down the bridges over the clear, blue water._

_When Joan made it to the island, the person still had their back to her. Standing closer, Joan could could see the person (an adult) was wearing a brown cloak, and that they had blonde hair tied back into a short ponytail with an emerald coloured ribbon._

_"Good that we could meet, eh?" Joan was startled a bit as the person, clearly a woman from the sound of her voice, spoke._

_"Er... Who are you? And where are we exactly? This doesn't seem too much like Hyrule." The woman chuckled._

_"It doesn't really matter right now. All you need to know is that we are at Lake Hylia. You do like this place. Right? I like it too, so I figured we would meet here."_

_"Thanks, but I still don't know who you are." Joan said, a little agitated. The woman did not say a word but she turned around, beholding a sight that shocked Joan._

_The woman looked like an older version of her! Around her twenties maybe. She was wearing a knee length, green tunic just like Joan's only darker and with an even darker lining. There was a silver gorget protecting her throat and splauders covering her shoulders. Her gauntlets, vambrace and boots were as brown as her cloak which was pinned on the left side with a simple gold ring brooch. Her brown eyes were half lidded as she looked down on Joan who backed away a little._

_"What the... Who...?" Joan wasn't sure whether she should be asking who or what this person was. There was no way there could be an adult who looked like her._

_Right?_

_The woman just chuckled._

_"Who I am exactly doesn't really matter right away. I will however answer that my name is Irina."_

_"Irina...? Alright, but why are you here?" Joan asked as she kept herself weary. Irina just continued to smile before he knelt down and looked at Joan directly in the eye._

_"I just feel like giving you my blessing," Irina told her simply before she put a hand on top of Joan's head. "So that you may be strategic and tactful in battle..." She moved her hand down to Joan's forehead. "That your courage and valour may never waver..." The hand moved to Joan's shoulder. "That you may be fast and strong no matter what the challenge..." Irina then had a more playful look as she put both hands over Joan's chest. "And may you have the perfect breasts as an adult as I do. Not big enough to get in the way of everything but hopefully enough to draw the attention of men."_

_"Get off me!" a red faced Joan shrieked as she stepped away from the woman and put her arms around herself protectively. Irina just laughed and ruffled Joan's hair a bit._

_"Just messing with ya kid!"_

_"Who the heck are you?!" Joan demanded, bearing her teeth as she glared at the older woman. Irina just smiled._

_"If you really want to know, I am the Hero Chosen by the Goddess." Joan blinked. Something about that phrase sounded familiar, but..._

_"Wait, that means the Master Sword is your's!" Joan exclaimed, but then felt a little embarrassed since it felt like stating the obvious._

_"I wouldn't really see it as mine as such." Irina said. "I would say it belongs to those with my Spirit of the Hero."_

_"'Spirit of the Hero'? What exactly does that mean?" Joan asked._

_"Well, it's nothing you need to worry about. It won't affect your quest in anyway." Irina waved it off. "It just means that you are my..." Irina paused briefly. "Fourth spiritual descendant."_

_"... Are you actually serious or is all this a dream?" Joan asked as she looked around. Speaking to the 'Chosen Hero' was one thing. But to be told she's a spiritual descendant... That seemed to be pushing it a bit._

_"Serious as you are to defeat Ganondorf. And we DO look a lot alike you know." There was no negative emotion when Irina said this. She only gave a lazy smile._

_"Oh... Right..." Wanting to forget about this small embarrassment, Joan quickly asked another question. "S__o do you visit all your spiritual descendants then?"_

_"Actually no. You're the first."_

_"Why me then?" Irina looked more serious now._

_"The others were different. Jericho, Ginny and Luka had their trials and while Jericho did have to do a bit of time travel in her quest, your's is different. Your quest will possibly lead to different timelines being created."_

_"Um, I don't exactly get what you mean." Joan admitted. Irina shrugged a little as she sat down on the grass and Joan followed suit._

_"I don't really expect you to understand too well. Think of it like this like... A tree branch. More branches grow off of them. So on a single branch of time, for every decision made two more branches of time split off. That make any sense?"_

_"It does actually." Joan admitted. "So, what does that mean for me exactly?"_

_"So far depending on what happens, I'm guessing there are two possible paths. One for success..."_

_"And one if I die and fail?" Joan dead panned._

_"Pretty much. Being the hero isn't as easy as they make it out in story books. But you know that already." After that there wasn't anything else said. Just a silence as the wind moved by gently and the water moved against the ground._

_"... So what do I do?" Joan asked. "Can you give any actual advice?"_

_"... Try not to miss." Irina said simply._

_"What? How's that suppose to help?!"_

_"Can't exactly give you advice when I only know so much myself. Besides, things always change in battle. You can never really have a set route in my opinion." Irina stood up and patted Joan's head._

_"Well, nice talkin' to ya. Try not to stress yourself too much. This is serious business, but you don't want to become uptight."_

_"Wait, you're just gonna leave, like that?!" Joan asked as she quickly got up as Irina began to walk down the wooden bridge._

_"I might visit again. Just don't make a note of it." Irina stopped and looked down to the water. "If I can give you advice now. I'd suggest going in the cave in the Zora's Fountain."_

_"Zora's Fountain? But why..."_

Joan then woke up, sitting up very quickly. She was still at the Fairy's Fountain at Death Mountain. Laying in front of the step towards the fountain.

"You okay? Normally I have to wake you up." Navi yawned as she fluttered over to Joan. Her wings slightly droopy since she was still a bit tired. Joan felt a bit guilty since Navi had been sleeping on her head and ended up disturbing her.

"Sorry. Weird dream." Joan said as she shuffled over to the water and splashed her face with it to remove the remaining sleep from her eyes before taking a refreshing drink from it.

"What was it about?" Joan deliberated over telling Navi about the dream but quickly made her decision.

"Basically, I met this lady who said she was my spiritual ancestor. It was so weird. But she said we should go to this cave at the Zora's fountain."

"Really? Well do you want to get going now? We're up already." Navi said before taking her own drink of water.

"I would actually kinda prefer that." Joan admitted. "If it's not light now, it should be by the time we get down to Kakariko. I feel bad for leaving Epona on her own this long."

"You've really grown attached to her, haven't you."

"What can I say? I like having her and feel good for taking her from Ingo." Joan said. "Now let's go!"

It looked to be around dawn when Joan stepped outside. But the light was enough for her to make her way down the mountain trail with little difficulty. Looking up at the mountain top, Joan felt some pride when she saw the the halo of smoke was back to it's clean white. Even the horrible smell from the volcano was gone too.

Dawn had given way to morning by the time Joan made it back to Kakariko. Epona herself seemed in good spirits when Joan retrieved her. The locals seemed in good spirits too, possibly noticing how Death Mountain looked better now.

"Joan!" Joan had just been leading Epona towards the town gate when she heard her name called and turned around to see Malon running towards her with a big smile.

"Oh, hey Malon. How's it going?"

"Pretty good fairy girl. I was just picking up some stuff for my dad while he went to feed the horses."

"Your dad? Did he get the ranch back?" Joan asked, already feeling happy since she was sure the answer was yes.

"He did. We actually have you to thank in a way, since you did help."

"I did?" Joan asked as she thought back to when she went to the Lon Lon Ranch last. She recall doing anything except upsetting Ingo and liberating Epona.

"Well, do you know what happens when you attack a cucco?" Malon asked.

"No, but I've always wondered."

"Well while you were riding off on Epona, Mr. Ingo did try to run after you but he accidently kicked one and it called all the cuccos on ranch to attack him."

"They did?! Is he okay?" Joan suddenly felt so glad she never hit one of those birds.

"He's fine, but the attack sort of um... changed him. He's nice now, but he's deathly afraid of cuccos..." Malon paused as something else came to mind. "And now that I think of it, he seemed to twitch a little when I mentioned you while talking to dad. He actually handed the ranch back to him."

Joan felt a bit guilty hearing that. She was glad to have had inadvertently helped Talon get his ranch back. But while Mr. Ingo was acting like a huge jerk, she didn't really want to bring such a violent attack on him like that. But she supposed there might have been something to that whole karma thing after all and Ingo received his just desserts. It's not like there was anything she could do to fix it anyway, and Joan had more important things to worry about.

"Well I'm glad to have helped." Joan told Malon. Malon looked to Epona and stroked her nose.

"I see you're taking good care of Epona."

"Of course I am. I'm not reckless!"

"So can I ask what you're doing here?" Malon asked Joan.

"Well, I just fixed a problem up at Death Mountain yesterday. But right now I have to go to the Zora's Domain."

"You've finished one job and go straight to the other?" Malon questioned, sounding a bit amused.

"I kinda feel like I have to. Y'know? Besides, I had a day off two days ago." Joan looked up to the sky briefly before she asked Malon, "Do you know what things are like at Zora's Domain?"

"Actually, I haven't really heard anything from there from anyone. I'm not sure if anyone has."

"Oh."

"Although..." A concerned frown appeared on Malon's face. "Lake Hylia's nearly all dried up! And the lake is connected to the Zora's Domain so I think something might be wrong." Joan was frowning to. What happened exactly? Did the Zoras home dry up? Whatever was wrong, Joan hoped that it wasn't anything as bad as the problem the Gorons had with Volvagia.

"I'll have to go and see the problem myself then," Joan murmured. "I should get going now."

"Okay, but will you promise to visit after you're finished there?"

"Sure, I will." Joan answered with a smile before she began to walk towards the town gates, with Epona's reins in hand.

"So what do you think Navi?" Joan asked once they were in Hyrule Field and she got on Epona's back and began to trot down the riverside. "Have any idea what could cause a lake to dry up?"

"No, but there's no doubt that there will be a temple of water involved." Navi said. "Maybe some sort of monster absorbed all the water or evaporated it."

"Either way, if there's a monster I'm taking care of it."

* * *

**I wasn't too sure on adding Irina, but I decided to go with it and hope you guys are cool with the idea.**


	20. Frozen Domain

While Joan did bring Epona inside the cave route, she decided to leave her by a small fence of sorts to keep her safe until Joan came back. The water in the river didn't look different so far which was hopefully a good sign, but she would have to wait until she was actually inside the domain to see the seriousness of the situation. Everything seemed normal as Joan made her way up the river, fighting the odd octorok up to when Joan played Zelda's Lullaby at the waterfall passageway and went inside.

Inside however is where the problem was made clear.

Inside all of the water with was frozen, including the water fall. Flecks of what looked like snow seemed to fall from the ceiling and the coldness radiated off of the ice, prickling Joan's skin.

"I think it's a no brainer that this is Ganondorf's doing." Navi muttered.

"Yeah, but where are the Zoras-AH!" Joan had looked over the edge to look at the ice and had been caught off guard by the sight of a Zora frozen under the ice. Looking as if it had made an attempt to swim to the surface before the ice froze him. It was a bit on the macabre side in Joan's opinion.

"Well... That answers that question." Joan looked to the route she remembered going down to see King Zora seven years previous. "I hope the Zora King and Ruto are okay."

Joan walked along the rocky pathway. Taking careful steps as some of the ice was on the ground as well. There were no guards outside the King's chamber, but the passageway was clear for Joan to walk through.

Not too surprisingly, the Zora King was inside and frozen as well. But he was encased in a sort of red ice. Frozen to his throne of sorts. Maybe Joan would be able to help him? His ice was different from the rest here, so it wasn't that bad of a thought was it? So far the one good thing Joan could think of was that Ruto was so far nowhere to be seen, so she might be alright. Joan only had to find her. Ah, it was like seven years ago in Lord Jabu-Jabu all over again in a way.

"Joan!" Joan jumped and looked to her fairy companion. "Are you okay? You just sort of spaced out there for a moment."

"Y-yeah. Just think is all." Joan replied before looking back up at King Zora and then the passage by behind his throne. "Well, at least he's not blocking the way to Zora's Fountain. That'll save us some time." Joan said as she began to make her way towards the passage to Zora's Fountain.

The water wasn't frozen at the fountain, but there were lumps of float ice drifting in the water. Joan also noticed that there didn't seem to be any sign of Lord Jabu-Jabu. She did briefly wonder what exactly may have happened to him, but decided to just continue on instead.

"Do you think the ice will hold me?" Joan asked Navi hesitantly as she looked over the ice. She wasn't sure what would happen if she fell into the water since it was sure to be as cold as the ice, and the last thing she needed was to be getting sick.

"I don't think it'll break, but there's only one way to find out." Navi stated. Joan nodded and took a small breath before she leaped to the ice, and crouched down putting her hands firmly on it as the ice bobbed. One side leaning down because of Joan's added weight. Joan slowly stood back up and looked around for a cave, but frowned when she saw two caves. One of which was further ahead.

"Two caves? Which one should I go to?"

"might as well go to the nearest one since it's there." Navi said. Joan nodded and made her way across, jumping from ice to ice until she managed to get at the cave mouth. Joan licked her lips that were becoming cold because of the frost as she made her way inside.

The inside of the cave was just as frosty as it had been in the Zora's Domain. If not, frostier. There were icicles sticking up from the ground which Joan cut out of her way and from the ceiling which Joan had to dodge occasionally as they would suddenly drop down, nearly piercing her. It was also a bit difficult to move around since the ice was very slippery and since there were foes to fight it was difficult to make her way across the ice safely. Though comparing this to the Dodongo's Cavern or Fire Temple, Joan could honestly say she preferred this coldness to those two places. While she did wish she had warmer clothes, she felt that if she kept moving and fighting that she would be fine and kept warm enough.

Then there were enemies in the caves called freezards, that were moving lumps of ice that were able to freeze their opponents in blocks of ice. Joan did fall victim to this once or twice, but it was during those moments that she felt extremely glad that she had gone to the Great Fairy of Power because then she wouldn't have been able to wield Din's Fire to melt the ice. She was also pretty sure the fire had kept her from being completely damp from the ice but that was a thought to think over a different day.

"What do you think we'll find here? Zoras that manged to escape the ice?" Navi asked as Joan paused to rub her bare fingers that were starting to feel numb. Joan could see the skin on them going a little red from the coldness.

"I'm not sure. But Irina said we should go here. That lady in my dream who said she was my spiritual ancestor."

"Well, there might be something here that can help us. Though I doubt the Water Temple would be here."

"Do you think it would be at Lake Hylia?" Joan asked as then started walking again. "That place has dried up apparently, and it's water did come from Zora's Domain."

"It would be a good place to look." Navi agreed before they went into the final chamber. Inside the ground was pure white with pillars of ice and icicles seemingly glowing and shimmering in white and blue. The ceiling was dark but the small sparkles of ice made it appear to mimic the night sky. In the center of the room was a a glowing, pale blue fire.

"It's so beautiful here." Navi said in awe. "Do you think this place is here seven years ago? Because it would be a shame for this to just go away."

"Yeah, but what's with the fire?" Joan asked as she made her way to the flames. She did feel a heat from them so she didn't dare put a hand out to it.

"It is your way to free the Zora King. Sadly it's not strong enough to free the rest of the Zoras." Joan turned around sharply but wasn't surprised to see Sheik behind her. He did have a habit of appearing from nowhere.

"So, this will free King Zora? Why not the others?" Joan asked the blonde boy as he took a few steps foreword.

"The ice covering him is different from the rest. This fire is the only thing that can melt that ice. Use this to carry it." Sheik held a glass jar out and Joan took it, though she did look doubtful.

"A glass jar?"

"Trust me. It will do it's purpose." Sheik assured her. Joan still felt some doubt but since she couldn't think of a better way, she walked back to the fire and with the jar open she swung the jar through the flames. She was surprised to see that there was an actual blue flame dancing around in the jar, but quickly closed it in case it escaped.

"So, are there any Zoras not under ice?"

"This is all there is..." Sheik answered. "With one exception, the Zoras are now sealed under this thick ice sheet."

"Who's the exception?" Joan asked, but a part of her was sure she already knew the answer.

"I managed to rescue the Zora Princess from under the ice, but she left to head for the Water Temple."

"She went to the Water Temple?" Joan furrowed her eyebrows. She was glad that Ruto was okay (and was hopeful she wasn't as much of a spoiled brat as she had been when they first met) but if she went to the Water Temple...

"... Is Ruto the Sage of Water?"

"That is a correct guess." Sheik confirmed. "This ice is created by an evil curse. The monster in the Water Temple is the source of the curse. Unless you shut off the source, this ice will never melt. If you have courage enough to confront the danger and save the Zoras, I will teach you the melody that leads to the temple."

"I'll do whatever I can to save the Zoras." Joan affirmed as she took out her ocarina. Sheik gave a simple nod in return as he reached for his harp.

"Time passes, people move. Like a river's flow, it never ends. A childish mind will turn to noble ambition. Young love will become deep affection. The clear water's surface reflects growth. Now listen to the Serenade of Water to reflect upon yourself."

One of the feelings Joan could feel from the serenade was one of walking away from the past and walking onto into the future. As if there was something worrying you about the future but when you move on, it isn't so bad. Once Joan had learned the song, she expected Sheik to make his exit. Instead however he walked up to Joan.

"The Water Temple as it's name suggests is underwater. It is built of a complex series of locks and raising and lowering of water inside, and what little water remains in Lake Hylia is still enough to cover the entrance to the temple. You'll need these." Sheik held something tightly in his hand and dropped it into Joan's open one. Looking at her hand, Joan saw what looked like a navy coloured choker with a silver charm on the front that looked like the Zora symbol, and what looked like two metal hair clips.

"Er... Thanks? No offense, but why exactly did you give me a necklace and hair clips?" Joan asked as she eyed the presents with an unsure look.

"The necklace is a gill choker. It will allow to breath under water as if it was air. The metal pins are meant to be attached to your boots. It will make them heavy as metal so you'll be able to stay underwater." Joan's eyes lit up at Sheik's explanation. If the Water Temple was as Sheik said, these items would definitely be useful!

"Wow, thanks!" Joan grinned.

"Joan, I'll see you again..." Joan's grin then dropped as Sheik vanished. Well, he stayed longer then normal. So that was something at least.

"We should go now Joan." Navi said. "If we want to see what's in that other cave, we should go now."

"R-right!"

Joan made her way out of the cavern and back outside, only to jump across more lump of floating ice (and nearly slipping once or twice) to make it to the cave. To Joan's surprise it looked like another Fairy's Fountain, though it felt slightly different from the first one. At the fountain itself, Joan contemplated whether it would be worth it or not to actually summon the Great Fairy. But she decided to anyway and quickly played Zelda's Lullaby. No sooner did Joan finish the song was the cackle like laugh of the fairy that caused that hairs on the back of Joan's neck to stand on end was heard as the Great Fairy rose from her fountain. Joan wondered whether it was the Great Fairy of Power or if she was an identical sister since they looked the exact same.

"Welcome Joan! I am the Great Fairy of Courage!" The Great Fairy announced as she smiled at the blonde Hylian. "My sister told me of you, so I shall give you a new magical ability! The Power of Farore's Wind! Receive it now!" Just like when Joan received the power of Din's Fire, there was a sensation in her hands. Except this one was as if her hands were weightless and were not even there!

"The power of Farore's Wind will allow you to return to a spot in the same area. It may not seem like the greatest power, but strategically it can be very useful. Especially when you are injured. I hope to see you again~" She left and returned to her fountain. Cackling with happiness.

"That power might come in useful in the Water Temple. But we should go free King Zora." Joan went wide eyed as Navi brought that up.

"Crap! I almost forgot about him!"

"Joan, don't swear!" Joan however was already running back outside, as Navi quickly flew after her.

Back inside the Zora's Domain, Joan looked at the jar containing the blue fire as she stood next to King Zora before she opened the jar up and dumped the flame onto the red ice. It seemed to work quicker then Joan expected as she jumped off the throne and stood back. In a matter of seconds the flames completely melted the ice. The Zora King blinked he slowly gained back his consciousness.

"Oh, I've come back to life!" The king exclaimed very happily. Joan didn't say anything at first and just focused on that one sentence. It just sounded so random somehow. "Was it you who saved me? Don't be nervous!" Joan was shocked out of her thoughts as she was directly addressed and cleared her throat.

"Y-yes. I did, sir."

"With my heartfelt thanks...how about I reward you with a KISS?!"

... No... Just... Just no. That was all that was echoing through Joan's mind as she felt some bile rise up her throat while simultaneously her heart dropped down to her stomach with a splash.

"N-no thank you..." Joan said louder then a mumble. She could actually feel the colour run off her face.

"What? You don't want it?!"

"Just knowing I saved you is reward enough!" Joan said quickly, not wanting to cause an insult.

"Oh well... If you don't want my rewards, you can listen to my troubles. Princess Ruto has gone to Lake Hylia and has not come back. I'm worried... Again!"

"I'll go down there and look for her if you like."

"That would be very much appreciated. Thank you, young hero." The King told Joan before she made her exit. Joan briefly wondered if the Zora Kind recognised her or not. Maybe he did, but then again Joan did give him her name. Unless of course Ruto told him.

And Joan had to go and find said Princess. She wouldn't be able to go to Lake Hylia like she did last time, but she had a pretty good idea were the alternate route was. If not, said alternate route was near the Lon Lon Ranch and Joan did promise Malon she would go there after she finished up at the Zora's Domain. Besides, it wouldn't hurt to rest up there for a short time before heading to the Water Temple. To fight monsters and save the Zora's!

... And put up with Ruto's complaining if she still did that.


	21. The Water Temple

The air seemed clearer at the Lon Lon Ranch since last time Joan was there. Even Epona seemed happier to be walking here again. Joan was near the barn when she saw Mr. Ingo taking some hay out of the barn. Except now he was dressed in the shirt and overalls he wore seven years ago. Deciding to risk it, Joan steered Epona in his direction.

"Um... Excuse me?" Mr. Ingo turned around and Joan mentally cringed. There were tiny scars around his face and neck that looked as if they were caused by beaks and tiny claws. She supposed that this was the result of the cuccos attack on Ingo.

"Oh! Hello! How can I help you?" While he did seem to twitch, he made an attempt at a smile. It wasn't as disturbing as the one he had when he owned the ranch but it still looked forced and trying to hard.

"Uh, is Malon here?" Joan asked.

"Yes, she's in the corral with her father with the horses! Her wonderful, forgiving father!" He seemed to twitch a bit more and Joan couldn't help but ask,

"Are you okay? You seem to be twitching a lot."

"Perfectly fine! The doctor said that I'm likely still suffering the shock of the attack and that eventually it will go away!"

"Okay then... Thank you for your help." Joan steered Epona towards the corral. As Mr. Ingo said, Malon and her father were in the corral feeding some of the horses there. Malon looked up and grinned as she waved Joan over.

"Nice to see you, Joan." Talon said when he noticed the young Hylian. "I want to thank you personally for helping get the ranch back."

"Don't worry, it was nothing. Really." Joan said. "I actually can't stay too long. I have to go to Lake Hylia to fix a problem there."

"You don't want to over work yourself Joan." Malon commented.

"Don't worry, I plan to take a break after the lake before going on some more adventuring." Joan shrugged. "Anyway, I kinda need some directions towards the lake. I took an alternate route last time and I can't take it again."

"Well the lake is just south-west from here." Talon said as he pointed in the direction. "I think there's a sign up near it but it shouldn't be too difficult to find it."

"Thanks." Joan said as she got off Epona. "Hey Malon, would it be okay if I left Epona here with you for the day?"

"You're not planning on walking all the way, are you?!"

"I'll be fine." Joan waved it off. "Need to stretch my legs anyway." In truth, she was planning on using the Serenade of Water Song to get to Lake Hylia faster. If the lake was dried up, she didn't feel too comfortable leaving Epona out there where there might be enemies or worse the monster of the Water Temple might come out and Epona could be in the wrong place at the wrong time. "Besides, I figured maybe you'd want to spend time with Epona again."

"Well... It would be nice." Malon agreed. "Okay, I'll look after Epona for you. But are you sure you don't want me to go with you to Lake Hylia and ride back here with Epona?"

"No, I'll be fine. Thanks though."

"Well if you want to, you're more then welcome to spend the night once you're finished at the lake." Talon kindly offered.

"Thanks, I'll keep that in mind."

After a little more talking, Joan finally said her goodbye and promised Epona she would be back. It was when Joan left the Ranch that she took out her ocarina and played the Serenade of Water. Her body felt light and for a moment she was blinded by a pale blue light while there was a small ringing in her ears. But once her sight returned she found herself at Lake Hylia as the ringing in her ears came to a stop. The sight of Lake Hylia was a depressing sight though. With only so much water over the bottom, the lake was almost completely dried up. There were small skeletons of fish on the ground who were not as lucky to stay in the remaining water.

"Do you think after we stop whatever's in the Water Temple and the lake returns to normal that the Zoras will be fine?" Joan asked her fairy.

"I'm sure they will. But first we..." Joan looked to Navi and was about to question why she trailed off, but seeing Navi look in a different direction Joan looked as well and was simply speechless.

There was another her. Well, it was more like her living shadow. Completely black with the only colour being beady, glowing red eyes. Joan tilted her head to the side and the shadow copied her.

"... Hi?" Joan said, more in a questioning tone as she raised a hand up in a wave. The shadow stayed silent but it copied Joan's gesture.

"... Navi, what do we do?" Joan whispered to Navi from the corner of her mouth. "Should we ignore her?"

"How do you know it's a girl?"

"It looks like my shadow, don't it?"

"Maybe. But I think we should be weary. It could be something sent by Ganondorf." Navi pointed out.

"Oh, that's a good thought. But what if-"

The shadow then leaped towards Joan knocking her to the ground, wrapping it's hands around her throat tightly to choke. Joan immediately grabbed the shadows hands to pry them off but found it difficult as the shadow began to bang her head on the ground. Joan then used one hand to feel around the ground as Navi tugged on the attacker's head. Feeling the texture of a rock, Joan grabbed it and swung at the shadow's head with enough force to knock it off her.

Joan immediately shot back up to her feet and drew her sword. But when she looked in the spot the shadow should have been, she saw no sign of it.

"Wh-what the heck was that?!"

"Maybe Ganondorf's been hearing about what you've done and created that shadow to hurt you?" Navi suggested.

"I... Guess that makes sense." Joan looked down at the lake and pointed down. "I think I see the Temple Entrance there. Let's get going."

"Do you still have that stuff Sheik gave you?" Navi asked Joan.

"Yeah, right here." Joan took out said items. The gill choker and metal pins. "Guess I better put them on now, huh?" Joan put the choker around her neck with a bit of difficulty in connecting it but managed in the end. With some help from Navi. Joan connected the metal pins to her boots and took an experimental step. While she could still move it was clear that she would never be able to run with them on except maybe under water.

"Will you be okay, Navi?" Joan asked the blue fairy. Navi huffed a little.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine. Trust me."

"If you say so." Joan mumbled before she began to make her way under the remaining water. Sheik did say the Water Temple would be here.

The gill choker was definitely working for Joan. While she did feel the water around her, she could only feel air in her nose and mouth. The weight added shoes also seemed easier to maneuver under the water as well. Looking to Navi, Joan saw that the fairy was in a bubble. Joan couldn't help but smile since she thought it was kinda funny. It also reminded her of a story Saria red her once. She forgot the name of it but there was a yellow brick road and a city made of emeralds.

Finding the temple was the easy part. Now the only thing stopping Joan from entering was an iron gate. Joan tilted her head to the side as she looked at it.

"Any idea how to move it?" Those were the words Joan was trying to say. But opening her mouth to speak, all that came out were bubbles raising to the surface. Joan blinked and tried to speak again but only saw more bubbles rise up. She looked to Navi with some worry. She hoped that there would be dry land in the temple. It would be difficult to communicate if all she could speak was bubbles. She assumed Navi had the same problem too as she flew... swam? Rose upwards and flew around what looked like some sort of lever that controlled the gate. Taking out her longshot, Joan fired it and pulled the lever once it latched on.

With the gate open, Joan made her way inside. Thankfully enough the first sign of a dry, air filled area was close and Joan took out her iron pins and slowly rose to the surface. The inside of the temple had a pagoda tower-like structure in the center of the room with the water appearing to be at the highest level. Looking down, there seemed to be different route ways but at different levels.

She was starting to think Sheik wasn't kidding when he said the tower was complex.

"It looks like we won't be able to communicate underwater. Hopefully it won't be too much of a problem." Navi said. "I think we may as well check out the bottom level first, and work our way up. That might be the most appropriate way."

"Right, put the pins back in." Joan said as she did just that before simply jumping into the water and letting gravity do the rest. After a gently thud on the bottom floor, Joan looked up to see some of the light shimmering on top of the water. Glancing around, Joan soon spotted a hallway with a symbol above the door that looked like lower water. Perhaps there was a way to lower the water level in there?

Joan pointed in that direction to Navi before she moved as quickly as possible to the hallway. It was at the end of the hallway inside a chamber that Joan saw someone standing there, waiting for her. If it wasn't for the fact that she was the one that Sheik had rescued from the ice in Zora's Domain, then Joan would almost not had recognised her. Joan didn't actually give much thought for the fact that Ruto was around her own age and as such would also be older. She looked more or less the same but with longer fins and wearing simple amethyst earrings. She even looked taller a bit then Joan as well. Lookng at Joan, Ruto gave a questioning look that soon turned to a pleased one.

"Oh, it's you! Joan, right? It's I, Princess Ruto of the Zoras!" Joan could only give a smile and nod in return while Ruto gave a mixed look of confusion and insulted.

"Why aren't you talking? Did you loose your voice or..." Joan had rolled her eyes and pointed to the choker on her neck, causing Ruto to trail off in realization. "Oh, yes. You can't naturally breath underwater. Come up with me. There's air up there." Ruto then began to swim upwards in a graceful motion. Joan quickly removed the iron pins of her boots and quickly swam upwards to catch up with Ruto.

As Ruto said, there was air up above and Joan was grateful for that as she rubbed the water away from her eyes. It was only now Joan realised that she would be soaking wet by the time she finished this temple.

"Well it's been a long time, Joan!" Ruto said. "You better have a good explanation for being gone for all these years."

"It's a very long, and strange story." Joan answered. "Trust me, it would take a while to explain."

"A while we don't truly have." Ruto agreed. "I'm sure you've seen what has become of Zora's Domain. Totally frozen! I was fortunate enough that that young man named Sheik rescued me."

"Yeah, he's a pretty good guy from what I know." Joan agreed with a small smile. Ruto gave her a funny look before giggling lightly.

"Oh, so that's what you needed the Zora's Sapphire for. You wanted to propose to him! I can't blame you though, he does have a aura of mystery around him." Joan however had a completely confused and innocent look on.

"Um, actually I only met Sheik some time ago more or less. And what do you mean propose?"

"You know. To become engaged." Ruto said like it was completely obvious.

"Oh. Right." Joan still had no idea what Ruto was on about. Maybe Ruto was just making stuff up to tease her? Yeah... That made the most sense so far.

"But now is not a time to talk about love!"

When did love get involved?

"I want to save my people and my father!" Hearing that, Joan brought herself out of the brief confusion she was in.

"Actually, I was able to defrost your dad. The fire wouldn't work on the rest of the ice though."

"Well... Thank you for your efforts. But if we're going to defeat the monster that's caused all of this, we'll have to lower the water here and then rise it up in the other chambers. That will open the final chamber where the foul creature is." Ruto explained.

"Sounds like a plan." Joan agreed. "So how do we lower the water?"

"On that wall is a Triforce symbol." Ruto told Joan as she gestured to said symbol. "You have to play the song of the Royal Family to lower the water completely." Joan nodded and took out the Ocarina of Time to play Zelda's lullaby. The spund of rushing water was sharp in Joan's ears and she looked to the route she and Ruto had swam up to see the water completely depleted. Looking over the ledge, Joan looked to Princess Ruto.

"So... Will you want me to carry you or..."

"I can jump down myself!" Ruto scoffed before she jumped off the ledge to the bottom of the temple floor, soon followed by Joan. It was a bit odd to see the temple dry so suddenly. Unless you counted the wet sand at the bottom.

"Now to raise the water, we have to inside the tower."

"Okay, but first I've a question."

"What is it?" Joan didn't say anything at first but eventually she got it out.

"On my way to this temple, I saw this living shadow. It looked kinda like me. It vanished before I could finish it off so I was wondering if maybe you saw it here?" Ruto frowned a little as she heard this and looked concerned.

"No, I haven't seen it. But it's strange. I know there's an oasis chamber here in which any warrior who enters must fight their shadow, a representation of the darkness that resides in their hearts no matter how small. The shadow could have come from that chamber but why would it leave? Unless... Unless this is Ganondorf's doing!"

"That's kind of what I was thinking." Joan said.

"Well let's hurry on! We've wasted enough time with chitter-chatter!"

The temple was complex and the puzzles were difficult and annoying. Even Ruto, who had been in the temple before some years ago, was a bit stumped here and there. The passageways and hallways being colour coded did make the entire trip easier though. The foes encountered were clam like creatures called shell blades and rolling, spiked balls. Ruto didn't fight (not that Joan was expecting her to) so Joan stayed in lead and listened to Ruto's directions.

They had just finally finished a puzzle in one chamber that according to Ruto led to the oasis chamber and possibly where the Shadow Joan was. But the hallway flickered to darkness for a few moments and both females stopped walking while Joan tried to tell if there was danger coming.

"... We should keep going. There's no point in stopping." Ruto decided, but there was uncertainty in her voice.

"M-maybe you're right." Joan murmured, but she still had her sword and shield out. There was no telling what could be here, waiting to attack.

And it seemed to be the right thing to do as soft footsteps then sounded out behind the two from the way they came. Joan took small steps foreword, trying to be silent as possible as the footsteps came nearer. But then they stopped. Joan swallowed as she looked around, but she saw no sign of anyone else being with them.

But out of nowhere a sword came from the shadows themselves and stabbed Joan in her right shoulder. Startled and overcome with the pain, Joan had lost focus long enough for the attacker to hit her to the ground before jumping over her. Joan's hand immediately went to her bleeding shoulder that was leaving a ruby stain on her clothes, but Ruto's yell brought Joan's attention to the Zora Princess, who wrists were currently being held tightly by Joan's shadow and struggling in vain. Joan could have sworn she saw an outline of a smirk on the shadows face before she went into the nearest shadow and dragged Ruto in with her.

"No! Dang it all!" Joan slammed her free shoulder on the ground. "Why didn't I react faster?! For crying out loud they were right there!"

"Joan, she would have left while you got up to fight anyway. There's no point arguing. I think all we can do now is continue on into the oasis chamber." Navi told Joan before flying near her shoulder. "Now stand still. My magic isn't that strong, but since we're not near any Fairy Fountain I'll try to sea some of the wound up before it becomes infected. Take your hand off."

Joan did as Navi instructed and allowed the fairy to touch her bleeding wound. With Navi being so small Joan hardly felt it. She did however feel a small warmth around her wound and saw a small blue light from Navi's hands glowing around it. Once the light and warmth faded away, the wound looked sealed there was the clearly seen scar of where it once was.

"Sorry I couldn't do a better job."

"Don't worry 'bout that. Let's just continue on into that oasis."

The oasis itself looked completely different from the rest of the temple. It looked more like Joan was outside with water around the floor except for the door way she came in from, the small islet in the center with a single, leafless tree and the other doorway across the room. There were also a couple rock around. Joan took a small step on the water, almost expecting it to be deeper. Seeing that it wasn't (or at least she wasn't going to sink in it), Joan made her way across the room. She didn't see anything else so far so she wanted to check if perhaps the room's exit was open.

There was no surprise when it wasn't.

Turning around, Joan began to walk around. Trying to find some way to open it. But then she noticed something about her reflection in the water. It looked too clear to be a mere reflection in the water. Joan's suspicion about it would be correct as the reflection looked back up at Joan with a mischievous smile before vanishing. Having a good idea where she would come from, Joan turned around and raised her shield. Blocking the attack from her shadow. In return Joan swung her sword at her but the shadow jumped up and stood on Joan's sword before swinging her's down causing Joan to move out of the way quickly.

The fight would be perhaps one of Joan's most difficult. After all, most of the time when Joan attacked the shadow would copy said attack and as a result both attacks would be blocked by one another. Then of course the shadow would stand on Joan's sword now and then. She also stayed too close for Joan to have a chance to draw her bow and arrow which made everything trickier then it should have been.

But there was one attack that would work. Din's Fire.

It was a bit of a risk since Joan would need at least one free hand for it, leaving her a bit more vulnerable to attack. But once Shadow Joan went into the water to do a surprise attack, Joan quickly began to build up the fire. Wanting to strengthen it before the shadow could strike. Once she heard the splash of Shadow Joan jumping from the water, Joan aimed Din's Fire towards her.

It worked. The shadow dropped to it's feet and held itself as it began to disintegrate. Seeing something that looked like her breaking apart felt a little unnerving, but Joan had to remind herself it was just a shadow and nothing more.

"... Fail... Ure..." Joan was startled. Did the shadow just talk? The voice sounded like a harsh whisper directly in Joan's ear.

"Even... If you... Live... There will... Be a lose... For you... Still..."

The shadow then fell face down to the water with a loud splash before finally vanishing into nothing. The room itself also faded from an oasis to a simple blue chamber with water on the ground.

"What do you think she... Nah, it was probably nothing." Joan insisted before she made her way towards the exit.

The rest of the Water Temple was aggravating to Joan as she found it incredibly difficult to make heads or tails on what exactly to do since some of the puzzles were confusing. That and Joan did get a little lost. But Joan did find the right hallway to go through eventually. The dryness she was able to get from using Din's Fire on Shadow Joan was gone now as she had to go through more water, though it was pretty pointless to complain about it since it was the Water Temple, albeit it also made Joan believe it to be pointless to try and dry off until she was outside the Temple and on dry land.

The final chamber was pretty simple with a square pool and four blocks in it. There didn't even seem to be a sign of the monster or a way for it to enter.

"Be careful Joan. Something about that water seems strange." Navi warned Joan as the girl jumped onto one of the blocks.

"I am, but where's the monster? Shouldn't there be one?" Joan asked out as she glanced around the chamber. It was only when Joan turned around that she moved back swiftly. Some of the water was raised up like a giant tentacle, with a red sphere inside of it.

"The monster is water?" Joan asked in disbelief.

"No, I think it's the red... ball, thing." Navi said, though it was clear she was unsure about what it was exactly to.

"Meh, if it's causing trouble I'll take care of it." Joan said after drawing the Master Sword. The water reacted immediately and wrapped around Joan's waist and raised her high in the air before throwing her into a wall.

"Okay... This water hurts." Joan groaned as she rubbed her head. She stood up and prepared to fight, knowing that underestimating would be a bad idea. Since the red ball seemed to be the weak spot, or the only thing she could really attack, Joan used the longshot to pull it out of the water to attack it before it would jump back into the water. Then it would have more then one tentacle at a time which sometimes led to Joan being thrown into the wall if she wasn't quick enough to move away fast enough. Staying around the edge of the pool rather then going onto one of the blocks seemed to work in Joan's opinion, or at least she wasn't going to dare risk making herself an easier target to attack.

While it was a long battle, Joan was the winner having dealt the final strike with the sphere bursting into bubbles. The water itself began to move like waves until it began to rise up towards the ceiling where it it seemed to evaporate into nothing. Leaving nothing but some water to trickle down.

"Well... We did it." Joan murmured as she sat down and rubbed her face. This time prepared for the whiteness clouding her vision.

_Now in the Chamber of the Sages, Joan stood before the person she knew would be the Sage of Water. Princess Ruto of the Zoras._

_"Joan... I would have expected no less from a brave fighter as you. Even if you do act like a girly boy." Ruto told her. "Zora's Domain and its people will eventually return to __their original state."_

_"How long do you think that will take?"_

_"It's hard to say, but hopefully not too long." Ruto answered before she chuckled. "I'm not going to lie Joan, I almost wish you were born a man! It's safe to say you would be just as brave and who knows. Maybe your male equivalent could have had your looks as well. I you were a man, I think I would have asked you to marry me!"_

_"Er... Thanks, I think." Joan said sheepishly. She didn't know whether to be flattered or not, but decided Ruto meant it as a compliment. Though she seriously needed to find out what engagement meant. She knew what marry meant from story books and... Wait, does engagement have something to do with marrying?_

_"You're looking for Princess Zelda, yes?" Joan looked surprised._

_"How did you...?"_

_"Hah! You can't hide anything from me. I sense she is alive, so don't be discouraged by doubt." The Princess assured her._

_"Thank you." Ruto nodded in approval._

_"I can tell that nothing will stop you in your quest for justice and peace. You must take this Medallion. Take it respectfully!" This part sounded more like an order as the water medallion appeared in front of Joan. A blue medallion with the symbol of the Water Temple engraved in it._

_"And Joan, before you go. If you see Sheik, please give him my thanks, OK?"_

_"Sure, I promise."_

Joan had only blinked and found herself back at the chamber. A blue circle now added to her right gauntlet. She had four medallions and at this stage she was feeling stronger then ever. But right now she just wanted to leave so she could finally warm up.

As Joan made her way outside the temple with the metal pins in her shoes, Joan looked up to see the water higher now as the Lake was restored. Joan gave a smile as she removed the pins and swam up to the surface. She grinned as she saw the lake's natural beauty returned. The water shinning under the evening sun. Happy, she laid back in the water on her back and lightly kicked her feet towards the nearest land. The small islet with the leafless, white tree. There was a surprise waiting for her there though.

"The evil has vanished from the lake. Thanks to you." Joan turned around, splashing a little frantically before she looked up to see Sheik standing on the land looking down at her.

"It was nothing. Er, Ruto wanted to thank you for helping you." Joan said as she moved to pull herself out of the water.

"Ruto want to thank me?" Sheik held his hand out to Joan. A little surprised at first, Joan clasped onto his hand and managed to get out of the water easier with his help.

"Well, ya did get her out of the ice." Joan pointed out before she used Din's Fire to dry herself off fast.

"I suppose that is true." Sheik admitted before he looked over the lake.

"Sheik, I've a question for you. Involving this oasis chamber in the temple." Joan said to the sheikah.

"You're wondering about what exactly your shadow means, yes?"

"Well... Yeah." Joan confirmed as she looked over the lake. "What does it mean? Should I be concerned about it?"

"Sometimes, darkness isn't just a dark, selfish desire of personal gain or wanting to harm others." Sheik began to explain. "Sometimes that darkness can just be simply negative emotions. A fear of failure. A depression you may think you can never escape. Feeling you are not worth anything. A warrior, no matter how brave, will have some fear or doubt. It is something they have to fight themselves. Even until the end."

"Right. I see." Joan looked to Sheik who was still looking over the lake. "So where should I go now? Where are the other temples?"

"... The Shadow Temple is in Kakariko, in the graveyard. The Spirit Temple is in the desert. The home of Ganondorf. Whichever temple you choose to go to next, I will wait for you." Sheik then seemed to notice something. "Your horse is here, along with your friend."

"Huh?" Joan looked and Sheik was right. Across the lake she could see Malon riding on Epona. She probably got worried about Joan and decided to come look. Thinking of inviting Sheik with her back to the Lon Lon Ranch, Joan looked to Sheik but was surprised to see he wasn't there. A splash was then heard behind Joan and she turned around to look in the water, but he was gone. But that was to be expected really.

Looking back across the lake, Joan saw that Malon had noticed her and was waving her over. Joan returned the wave and began to make her way across the bridges connecting to the main land.

She would have her rest now and tomorrow. But the day after Joan would have to plan which temple to go to.

But again, that thought was for later.


	22. Mother's Day

When Joan had come to Malon she seemed very surprised that Lake Hylia was back to normal once more, but in a good way. After that Joan went with Malon back to the Lon Lon Ranch to spend the night and have dinner. And the next day too more or less since Joan wanted to take that day off to recuperate from the Fire and Water Temple. Joan was also happy to go with Malon into Kakariko for some stuff.

"It's good that you're taking the day off. From the sounds of what happened yesterday we don't need you getting yourself killed." Malon told Joan as they rode into Kakariko on Epona. Joan in front with Malon sitting behind her.

"Well Navi thinks I should rest my shoulder up a bit before continuing on so I figured, 'why not?'" Joan shrugged. "So do you mind if I ask what we have to do here?"

"I just have to make an order for some feed to be delivered to the ranch and then go buy some flowers at the florists."

"Alright then. Are the flowers for some special occasion coming or just for decoration?" Joan asked as she let Malon get off Epona first before getting off herself.

"Well it's Mother's Day and I wanted to leave some flowers on my mum's grave."

"Mother's Day?" Joan asked as she scrunched her eyebrows together. "They have a holiday for mums?"

"You never heard of it?"

"Well in my defense, I did grow up Kokiri for ten years and didn't discover I was really Hylian until a short time ago. And since Kokiri were created by the Great Deku Tree the idea of holidays for parents we didn't have was never really something to cross our minds." Joan answered with a small shrug of her shoulders.

"I guess that does make sense. Are there any holidays the Kokiri do celebrate?" Malon asked as they made their way through the villagers.

"There is this festival." Joan recalled. "We'd celebrate the opening of the Deku Trees fruit and new fairies being born. It was pretty fun, as far as I remember."

Malon was quick enough ordering more feed since the store itself had few customers when the pair arrived. Joan just assumed it was just a slow day. Or at least that was what she wanted to believe. The florist itself was just a young man standing by a wagon cart with bunches of different flowers.

While Malon was looking over some of the flowers, Joan was thinking to herself. It had been a while since Joan went to Kokiri Forest, and Joan did want to visit her mum's grave. What's a better time to visit then today one a holiday that celebrated mothers? Joan took a hold of her mum's pendant. She still wore it since it gave her a bit of a boost in confidence.

Seeing Malon pay for a small bunch of white begonias, Joan looked at the cart itself and took a bunch of bright, yellow daffodils. They looked the most appealing to Joan.

"I'll take these. How much?" Joan asked the florist.

"Twelve rupees."

"Here ya go." Joan put the money in his hand before turning to a somewhat surprised looking Malon. "So let's go visit your mum."

While there was the graveyard meant only for those who served the Royal Family of Hyrule, there was a path from there that led to a different graveyard that was used by the rest of the population. The graveyard seemed the same as it did seven years ago. Gravestones still had some grime and some grasses were due for a cut still. No doubt this place would be spooky at night. Joan supposed one of the reasons the graveyard looked intact was because it was the sort of place evil things liked.

"Here we are." Malon stopped at one grave which was one of the few that didn't have as much grime encrusted on them. Joan looked at the engravings and saw that Malon's mother's name was Maria.

"Hi mum, How you doing?" Malon said as she put the flowers down on the grave. "Dad sends his love. I hope you don't mind, but I brought a friend with me. Her name's Joan." Malon smiled as she gestured to Joan. Joan gave a small smile, and gave a small wave.

"Er, hi Malon's mum."

"She helped fix things at the ranch when Mr. Ingo took over. But you probably already know that."

Joan briefly tuned out just long enough for her to look over all the graves. She didn't know why but a feeling of creepy claws crawling up her skin and digging into her torso came as she looked at all the graves surrounding her. She had grown up understanding the concept of death though she never thought too much of it then since she taught she was immortal like the rest of the Kokiri. But right now, knowing that someday she would be like everyone buried here gave her a bit of a sinking feeling.

Joan then tried to shrug it off. She was worrying about something that wouldn't happen for years. Decades even. That is, assuming she lived through this quest that is.

They stayed there for some time longer until Malon was finished and began to make their way out of the graveyard and to Epona. On the way Malon asked,

"So do you mind if I ask why you bought those daffodils?"

"... I felt like visiting my mum's grave." Joan answered. "I'd figure once we got back to the ranch I'd take Epona and make a quick trip back to Kokiri Forest and then come back."

"Or we could go straight to the forest?" Malon suggested as as small grin came to her face. "If it's okay with you, I would like to see where you lived." Joan was a bit surprised to hear this but agreed.

"Well if you want to, sure. I've got no problem with that."

"Great! Is there anything I should know before we go?"

"Outsiders who get lost are suppose to turn into stalfos, but I've lived there for ten years without a problem. But it might just be a case of me being special so you better stay close to me so you don't get lost."

The trip to Kokiri Forest was more or less peaceful. Malon seemed pretty excited as Epona galloped on, and Joan could actually understand why. Malon had never been to the woods before so obviously with it being a new experience she had something to look foreword to as they came closer and closer.

The forest looked better compared to when Joan was last here, and she felt a sense of pride in knowing that she stopped the evil that was here. The small village itself looked better as well. Joan was thinking over whether to make their presence known or not, but it didn't matter as Mido noticed them though he didn't immediately come over. Judging by how tightly he had his lips pressed together, Joan guessed he was still a bit upset about how he had unknowingly apologised to her last time she was here.

"Hey, Mido. Everything okay?" Joan asked as she got off Epona after Malon.

"Yeah. Who's your friend?" he asked as he looked to Malon with some apprehension.

"She's Malon. We were passing by and there's something I need to do in the woods."

"Nice to meet you." the re head said as she gave a wave to Mido.

"Er... Yeah. Same here." Mido mumbled awkwardly. Joan could actually understand why though. It wasn't often that you would see outsiders here in the village. That and the fact that said person was friends with the girl he had picked on a lot seven years ago.

"I have to go... Get something." Mido mumbled before walking away.

"Is he okay?" Malon asked Joan.

"The two of us... Never really got on too well in the past." Joan told her. "C'mon, let's just keep going. We'll bring Epona with us."

The only other stop after that was for a brief talk with the Deku Tree Sprout. After that the walk continued on until they came to the simple grave of Joan's mother.

"Here we are." Joan murmured as she handed Epona's reins to Malon and walked to the grave.

"Hey mum. How you doing? I heard that there was this holiday celebrating mums so I figured, what a better time to visit, eh? I got you these." Joan placed the daffodils right before the stones before sitting down. "I'm not sure if you'd like them but I thought they looked nice."

Malon left Epona close by to graze on the grass before she sat down next to Joan.

"It's peaceful here." Malon commented. "When you're finally finished with your adventuring, do you think you'll ever come back here?"

"I haven't really thought about it," Joan admitted. "I mean, I think I would like to but I can't help but feel that it would be a bit awkward for me to stay here since I'm gonna grow old while the others stay young. But if I choose not to live here, I'm not too sure where I would go. Or even do now that I think about it."

"Well you're more then welcome to stay with me and my dad as long as you like if that's the case." Malon offered. Joan was about to protest but Malon cut her off. "No. Maybe you didn't intend for Mr. Ingo to get attacked by those cuccos, but you still helped get the ranch back."

"Well, I guess if I can't I can't figure what else to do with my life I can work on the ranch. It'd be kinda fun." Joan chuckled.

"So do you know anything about your mum about all?" Malon asked. Joan held up the pendant of her necklace.

"I know this was her's. At least that's what I assume since it was on the cross there. But it has the name Aya on the back of it so I'm guessing that's her name."

"It's a nice necklace." Malon said as Joan let her hold the pendant. "So what are you going to do tomorrow. You did say you planned to leave then."

"I thought about it. I figured I'd go to Kakariko and try to find the Shadow Temple. It's suppose to be behind the graveyard but I didn't spot it."

"I think it's on a ledge overlooking it. At least that's what I head." Malon told Joan. "You better be careful if you're going there though. I heard it's also known as the house of the dead so who knows what could be inside of there."

"Can't be any worse then the other things I've faced," Joan shrugged before she looked back to her mother's grave. "Do you think we would have met and become friends if my parents didn't die?"

"I'm sure we would have." was the honest response. "I can't think of a reason why not. Maybe not around the same time we did first meet but we would have I think."

"I'd like to think so too." Joan smiled to Malon before she looked up at the sky. "Maybe we should go back to the Lon Lon ranch now. Don't want your dad to worry."

"If you're ready to go, we'll go." Malon stood up and walked over to Epona. Joan looked back to the simple grave.

"Hope you like the flowers mum."


	23. The Kakariko Well

The rest of the day at the Lon Lon Ranch was pretty relaxing. Joan helped around a bit since she thought it was only fair and was able to enjoy Malon's lovely cooking. But the next day soon came and Joan rode off on Epona to Kakariko to find and enter the Shadow Temple.

"You okay Joan? Youy mind seems elsewhere." Navi commented.

"It's nothing. Just thinking of what to actually expect in the Shadow Temple. What if shadows attack? Like back at the Water Temple."

"If so, I'm sure you'll be able to handle yourself. You've proven that before."

"Yeah, you're..." Joan trailed off once she noticed smoke raising to the sky as she neared the small village. She felt some anxiety as she faintly recalled hearing the phrase, 'where's there smoke there's fire'. She had Epona move faster. Stopping at the gates, Joan nearly threw herself off of her mare before running into the village. People were already using buckets of water to put the fire out which was slowly putting the fire out or at least preventing it from spreading. Seeing some bystanders, Joan walked over and asked,

"Do you know how this fire started."

"We're not sure." an elderly man answered. "All we do know for certain is that Impa wasn't here at the time at least."

"Impa? As in the Sheikah? That's her house?" Joan looked at the burning remains and began to wonder if Princess Zelda and Impa were there all this time. If so, how many times had she walked by this house and not even realise it."

"Of course! She didn't live there often seven years ago since she served the King of Hyrule. But she has come here every now and then since Ganondorf took rule. Sometimes a young man with blonde hair is with her."

"Probably Sheik." Joan mumbled to herself. The man however heard her.

"Excuse me?"

"Oh, sorry. Talking to myself. Thank you." Joan looked back to the fire and considered helping but the people seemed to be gaining control over it so decided to just continue on her way. As long as there was no one in the house, there was nothing to truly worry about.

She hadn't gone too far away until she saw the well and a very recognisable figure standing in front of it.

"Sheik!" Joan called as she ran over to him. "I saw the fire and I heard it was Impa's house and I heard you were sometimes with her so I-"

"Get back, Joan!"

"What?"

The wooden poles attached to the well was then pushed off by an invisible force and landed far behind them with a loud crash, which was then followed by rain. Joan had only looked back for a moment in shock before she heard Sheik yell out and turning back towards the well, Joan saw Sheik was being spun around by something invisible before he was finally thrown to the ground near where the poles of the well were thrown. Joan immediately ran to him.

"Sheik, you okay?" Joan asked as she pushed the boy onto his back. "Do you need me to..." Joan stopped when she noticed a shadow moving around on the nearby buildings. But yet the source of the shadow was nowhere to be seen. Spooked by this, Joan stood up and drew her Master Sword and shield. Ready to stand and fight if necessary. But she then saw the shadow rushing towards her and before she could even swing she felt herself be grabbed by an invisible hand before being thrown into a wall with such force that the world became dark to her.

_Joan opened her eyes but found herself back at Lake Hylia, on the islet with the bare tree. Sitting up, Joan saw she was ten again and so suspected only one possible reason for this._

_"Good to see you again, Joan." Joan sharply looked to her right and saw Irina sitting cross legged next to her._

_"Irina? Why am I here?" Joan asked as she crossed her own legs._

_"Well, I wanted to give you some advice for the Shadow Temple, and to defeat the monster there." Irina answered as she petted Joan's head. Joan swatted it away though._

_"Right, and what's that exactly?"_

_"As the name implies, shadows do play a part in the temple. But the Sheikah have a fascination for the truth. To look beyond what one may appear to be and what really lies beneath it. For reasons like these they created special artifacts. These artifacts are a good example of the phrase, 'see no evil, hear no evil and speak no evil'. _

_"The Mask of Truth allows you to speak with the rare Sheikah Stones. The Shard of Agony lets out a rumbling sound whenever there is something hidden underground. You however will only need the Lens of Truth. It will allow you to see what is really there. Any walls or doors that may appear there may in fact be fake and created through magic. Any pathway and ladder may be hidden from you without this tool. Even invisible enemies, such as the one that knocked you out, which I may add is the foe you will face at the end of the Shadow Temple."_

_"Wow..." Joan breathed. "That is so cool! But, where am I even going to find this Lens of Truth. I highly doubt the Sheikah would just leave stuff like that lying about."_

_"That is true." Irina chuckled. "But there is one you can find that's closer then you think. Do you remember the well in Kakariko?"_

_"Yeah, what about it?"_

_"Well before that well was built, a man lived in a house in that spot and underneath it was a secret dungeon where he kept his Lens of Truth. That dungeon is still there."_

_"Great! I'll go there as soon as I wake and-" Joan was speaking in an excited tone before Irina put a hand over her mouth._

_"Ah, ah, ah. Hold on. The route to the lens is blocked off now, and it's too small for your current body to go through."_

_"Oh..." Joan frowned. Now how would she get through the temple?_

_"However..." Irina continued as she gave a sly smile. "In this point of time, the lens was already taken by you."_

_"What do you..." Joan stopped as she thought over what Irina said and grinned. "Oh, I get ya! I have to go put the Master Sword back in it's pedestal to go back in time and get the lens!" _

_"There you go." Irina gave Joan another pat on her head before she stood up. "Now you better wake up. You're starting to worry Sheik."_

Joan's eye then shot open. Looking up she saw Sheik and Navi looking down at her in concern.

"Looks like you're coming around." Sheik gave a small sigh of relief as Joan sat up and then helped said girl stand up.

"Yeah, but what was that thing that attacked us exactly?"

"The evil shadow spirit has been released! Impa, the leader of Kakariko Village, had sealed the evil shadow spirit in the bottom of the well with the help of an apprentice of her's, though sadly he didn't live to tell the tale." Joan noticed that Sheik's voice sounded a bit softer here, but he continued on before Joan could think on it any longer. "The force of the evil spirit got so strong, the seal of the well broke, and it escaped into the world!"

"Does Impa know? Where is she?" Joan asked the young Sheikah.

"I believe Impa has gone to the Shadow Temple to seal it again, but she will be in danger without any help! Joan! Impa is one of the six Sages. Destroy the evil shadow spirit and save Impa!

"There is an entrance to the Shadow Temple beneath the graveyard behind this village. The only thing I can do for you is teach you the melody that will lead you to the Shadow Temple. This is the melody that will draw you into the infinite darkness that absorbs even time. The Nocturne of Shadow!"

As both young adults took out their musical instruments, Joan couldn't help but find it a little odd that nearly all the sages she had met so far were people she had already met before that news. But she decided to brush it off as a coincidence. Perhaps it was even just something desired by fate. The Nocturne of Shadow itself was a bit depressing in Joan's opinion. There was no doubt that it fit the element of shadows and darkness. Maybe even death itself. But the tune had some hope at the end of it, something Joan wanted to hold onto but even she could see that there was only so much hoping can do.

"Let me take care of the village!" Sheik told Joan after they had finished. "I'm counting on you, Joan!" No sooner were those words spoken did Sheik back away and throw a deku nut to the ground and vanished. Something Joan was completely used to at this stage.

"Let's get to the temple then." Navi said but Joan shuck her head.

"No. First we have to go to the Temple of Time."

"What? Why?"

"Irina spoke to me when I was unconscious." Joan began. "She said that we need the Lens of Truth to get through the temple, but the only one she knows of is only obtainable in the past."

"If you're sure about this then we'll go." Navi said. "Just put Epona in a stable first."

"Of course. Wouldn't do anything else before that."

So after Joan put Epona in the nearby stables, she played the Prelude of Light on her ocarina. No way was she going to go through a redead infested Castle Town without good reason when she could teleport there!

After being temporally blinded by a pale gold light, Joan found herself back in the familiar Temple of Time. Joan ran towards the pedestal where she had first drawn the Master Sword and took out said sword.

"Okay, lets hope this goes well." Joan murmured before she pushed the sword into the stand. The familiar blue lights she saw when she first drew the sword rose up and surrounded Joan as she closed her eyes and felt that she was sleeping as she had them shut. But when when she opened them again, she saw her tiny ten year old hands holding onto the Master Sword.

"We're back! I can feel it!" Navi said.

"Definitely." Joan said as she looked over her body. It was odd to be in it again when not dreaming. "Now we just have to go to Kakariko and go into the well and get that lens!"

"Then play the Nocturne of Shadow! That will save us some time." Navi suggested, and Joan had no problems with that so quickly took out her ocarina and began to play the song.

After a brief blinding by a faint purple light, Joan found herself over looking the graveyard in Kakariko on top of a ledge. Looking behind her, Joan saw a tunnel that was probably the entrance to the Shadow Temple. It was good she knew where it was, but right now she had to go down a well! So Joan just jumped off the ledge and ran through the graveyard and back into Kakariko towards the well.

However with the well full of water Joan realised she had a problem. While she could put the metal pins in her boots to get down there, the gil choker wouldn't fit her properly and be a bit loose around her neck. Whether that would affect it's power or not, Joan didn't want to take the chance.

"Great. Now what?" Joan mumbled as she looked down the well bitterly.

"Wait! Didn't that man in the windmill say that a girl went there and played the Song of Storms and messed the windmill up AND dry up the well?" NAvi said. Joan thought it over and slowly nodded. "Yeah... Yeah, he did! So I just have to play the song in there and the well will dry up and I can go in!"

"Then get to that windmill, on the double!"

The windmill looked to be working peacefully as Joan entered the windmill, and inside was the man playing his phonograph. Except he looked a lot more happier and cheerier then when Joan first met him in the future.

"Oh, hello there young lady. Nice day, isn't it?"

"Yeah, very pleasant." Joan agreed. There was some guilt in her about the fact she was going to mess up his windmill, but the need was justified in her mind. "Can I ask what you're doing?" Joan asked, trying to make small talk.

"I was just playing my phonograph to try and find a melody to fit the windmill. It's rather tricky though."

"I have a song that might work." Joan offered. "I can teach it to you."

"That would be most kind of you! Even if it doesn't fit, it'll be nice to learn a new song."

"Alrighty then." Joan took out the Ocarina of Time and began to play the Song of Storms. The man played along and caught onto the song quick enough. However, it started to rain around the time they finished and the windmill's machinery began to work much faster then it had before.

"What! It's all going too fast! What did you do?!" the man cried out in shock as he stopped playing.

"Sorry, gotta go!" Joan quickly ran out as the man cried out some more. But Joan didn't stop and went straight to the well, pleasantly happy to see it was now dry and that a ladder was leading down. Without hesitation she began her decent down into the tunnel. She had to squint a bit as it became darker and her eyes tried to get used to the new lighting. There was a small tunnel when Joan was at the bottom, that was only big enough for her to fit in so she squeezed her way through it.

There was a small chamber inside, with nothing but a skeleton to give company.

"Eww..." Joan grimaced.

"Oh you've seen far more disgusting things."

"I know, Navi. But think about it. This is connected to the well. The well that people have been getting their drinking water."

"... Ew..." Navi herself cringed once she got what Joan meant. "Well, do you see anything here that could be the lens?"

"No. There's nothing here. I don't get it." But then Joan looked at the walls and thought over Irina's words.

_ "...Any walls or doors that may appear there may in fact be fake..."_

It made Joan think as she looked by the wall where the skeleton was.

"I wonder..." Joan reached a hand out to touch the wall. But as she pushed her hand against it, her hand went right through.

"Is that a fake wall?!" Navi asked in surprise.

"Looks like it." Joan confirmed before she took more steps foreword. Passing through the wall completely and entering a long hallway. It reminded her a bit of the Royal tomb she had entered after accidently blowing the gravestone up. But Joan pressed on despite the ominous feeling she had gotten from the place and looked looked around her surroundings carefully. She didn't stop until she came to a door and nervously opened it up.

Inside was some sort of earthly cave, and at the other side was a chest made of wood that was really rotten looking. However that wasn't all. Long, skinny arms with deathly coloured skin rose up high like trees around the room. Joan felt a little ill by looking at them and tried to move past them without anything going wrong. One hand however had different plans and instantly grabbed Joan's arm, causing the young girl to screech in shock and the icy cold contact.

But it got worse from there as from the ground rose a creature with a sort of hunched figure. It's body looked like a blob and it's arms looked more like tentacles but it had a long neck and jaw and it lacked lips which showed off it's frightening teeth, which were only matched in fear by it's empty black eye sockets.

Joan yelled in fear and tried to get away from the hand, but it had an iron grip on her. The creature shuffled towards her and looked ready to bite. Joan fought harder to free her and the creature had lowered it's neck which gave Joan an unwanted better look at it's face and a smell of blood off it's breath. It shot it's head out to bite her but Joan blocked the attack with her Kokiri sword, and managed to free her arm and jump back.

The creature followed her around the chamber, and Joan would either jump back or block and attack with her sword. Sometimes it would go underground and Joan would be left with no choice but to let one of the hands grab her and to lure the monster back up.

But Joan was eventually victorious. After a final slash, the monster collapsed to the ground with a loud slap from it's body fat. It's face and neck bleeding heavily from Joan's attacks on it.

Joan herself felt a bit shaken from this monster. Even her knees wouldn't stop quivering. But she forced her legs to move and open the chest, and saw that her efforts were not in vain. Inside was a small purple magnify glass with purple tinted lens and a red, pointed iris in the center. Like the one of the Sheikah symbol. The Lens of Truth.

"This is great, now let's go. Please. I don't want to stay here with that thing anymore." Navi said. Joan didn't need to be told twice as she took a firm grip of the lens and left the cave in a hurry to leave the well and get back to the surface. Joan felt relief as she felt the suns on her skin after leaving the temple. But one question stayed in her head.

Would the Shadow Temple have something just as horrifying?


	24. The Shadow Temple

Joan was sitting by the well, getting her breath back. She knew that the monster she had just faced would definitely haunt her nightmares for a while. She almost didn't notice when someone came up to her until she heard someone ask her a question.

"Hey, do you know why the well is dry?" Joan looked up and saw a young boy her age with a stoic face, blonde hair and red eyes carrying an empty bucket. Something about him felt a bit familiar to Joan as she stood up. Deciding not to jump to conclusions right away, Joan decided to answer (in other words, lie) and replied,

"No, sorry. Can't say I know." Joan shrugged. The boy gave a small sigh of frustration.

"Darn it. I need the water to do some cleaning."

"Well, I'm sure you mum will understand if you're not able to get water." Joan said. She didn't want the boy to get in trouble because of her. Joan was a bit surprised when the boy began to chuckle faintly.

"It's not my mum I'm worried about. It's my master, Impa."

"Impa?" Joan asked, feeling a bit confused. Was it the same Impa she knew? Or was the name somewhat common? "She's your master?"

"Yes. I'm her apprentice, Sheik. It's hard to find other Sheikah when your not really trained. Impa puts me in charge of her house because of her work with the Royal Family and attending to the Royal Princess, but she comes here as often as she can each week to train me."

Joan was surprised to see a young Sheik in front of her, and not wearing anything to cover his face up. He was actually kinda cute too.

"I see. That's pretty interesting. Is it hard work?"

"I can't really compare, but I would say so. Hey, you haven't happen to see Impa around, have you? She's tall and has white hair. She was suppose to come here today but she hasn't and she's never late. I have heard that there's been some trouble at the castle but I'm not too sure if Impa was involved someway."

"How long ago was that?" Joan asked hesitantly.

"About a week ago I think." Sheik answered. That was about the same time Joan had spent in the future. Time probably ran the same here as it did there.

"Well, I'm sure she's safe. She'll come to you when she can." Joan wasn't too sure if it would be a good idea to tell him everything she knew. It might mess time up somehow.

"I suppose you're right. You know, I haven't actually gotten your name."

"Oh, I'm Joan." Joan offered a hand out. Sheik didn't respond at first so Joan began to lower her hand. But Sheik caught her off guard when he lightly gripped her hand for a few seconds before letting go quickly. "Er... I've been through this village a few times and I've never actually seen you before."

"It was probably poor timing. It's a small village but there are plenty of people about. That and I do have my chores and training." Sheik responded. "If you don't mind me asking, are you Kokiri? It's just that you do wear a lot of green, and there is a fairy flying with you."

"It's a long story, but I'm not. Just raised as one for ten years." Joan answered sheepishly.

"Ah, I see. Well, I better get going. I'm sure the river water will work just as good."

"I'll help if you like." Joan quickly offered. "I have the time so it wouldn't be a bother really."

"I guess it wouldn't hurt. And it'd be nice for some company." Sheik sounded a bit hesitant about it but he agreed. "Okay. I carry the bucket down, and on the way up we'll both hold the handle."

"Sounds fair enough."

The trip to the river didn't take too long, and while Sheik was a bit of a quiet boy like he was in the future (though not as much), Joan was able to talk to him about little things as long as they weren't too personally. Even coming back up Joan could have sworn she saw Sheik twitch a smile or two. It was nice for Joan to be ten again and hang around someone her age. Sure in the future there was Malon and maybe future Sheik, but Joan was till mentally ten years old.

"So are you doing anything in particular since you're not in the Kokiri Forest?" Sheik asked as the two carried the heavy bucket towards Impa's house.

"I'm... looking for some people. Just, adventuring. That sort of stuff." Joan shrugged after they lowered the bucket outside the front door.

"Well, thank you for your help, Joan. I'd offer to let you inside, but I'm not too sure if Impa would be happy with that."

"Don't worry about it. I have to get going anyway." Joan waved his apology off. "How about we agree to meet again?"

"I think I'd like that very much." Sheik admitted with a very tiny smile. "Promise?"

"Promise." Joan agreed. "I've got to go. Bye!"

After a quick trip of leaving Kakariko, playing the Prelude of Light to go to the Temple of Time, retrieving her Master Sword and going back seven years in the future and THEN play the Nocturne of Shadow, Joan finally made it back to the Shadow Temple.

"I don't know what could be in there Navi, but I feel ready for it!" Joan said as she tied some string around the handle of the Lens of Truth. The way she saw it, it would be more useful to not have to hold the lens if she had to fight something invisible so she decided to use some string that would be worn around her head while the lens would hang in front of her left hand. It felt like a good idea in her opinion and when she had told NAvi, the fiary did agree.

"I'm glad you're confident about this, but there's something that's been bothering me." Navi said.

"What is it?" asked Joan, not looking up from her work.

"Well, don't you think that something feels wrong after talking with Sheik back in the past?"

"What do you mean?" Joan asked as she looked up to Navi.

"Think about it. When Sheik told us about Impa sealing a monster in the well, who died?"

"Her apprentice?"

"Yes, and what did Sheik tell us he was in the past?"

"... Impa's apprentice." Joan answered as she slowed her work to a stop.

"But yet said apprentice is right here, with us. And when we first met him at the Temple of Time, he didn't acknowledge meeting us before."

"... Could have been we accidently met him and weren't suppose to." Joan suggested. "Maybe he thought I forgot him, or maybe he had to act like we were meeting for the first time. And the apprentice thing, well... Impa could have had another apprentice as well. Seven years is a long time."

"True." Navi admitted. "I just think it's something worth thinking about."

"I know you mean well, but right now I have my mind on one thing." Joan stood up and adjusted the string tied around her head and the lens in front of her left eye like a monocle. "And that's to find Impa and stop this monster."

"You better hurry. Impa has had a big head start."

"No fooling." Joan mumbled as she walked to the Temple entrance. There was a single door with the Sheikah eye engraved in it, while before it was a platform surrounded by numerous, unlit torches. Already having a good idea what she had to do, Joan stood on the platform and casted Din's Fire. The range was able to light all of the torches in one go and the door to the temple rose up slowly, allowing Joan to enter inside.

Inside, the Lens of Truth came in use immediately as a stone block was blocking Joan's way in a hallway. At least that's what it looked like to the common eye. But with the lens, Joan saw that it was in fact fake leading Joan into a chamber with a panel with a raven resting on top that was meant to face the real skull or it would drop it's victims into a dark descent. From there on, Joan realised that this temple was filled to the brim with traps and fake walls and floor. And lets not forget the turning spikes and guillotines. If Joan didn't have the lens, chances are she would have died when she wasn't even halfway through.

Then of course there were the creatures. Giant hands called floormasters, living mummies called gibdos, stalfos and redead. With all of this sort of security, Joan couldn't help but wonder to herself if there was a possibility there were some hidden secrets here as well. Or were the creatures a result of Ganondorf's rule?

But about halfway through the temple, Joan spotted a chest with her lens covered eyes that wouldn't have been seen with her bare one. Both the chest and the platform it was on were invisible and required a big jump to get to it, but Joan was able to jump to the other side with little problem and opened the chest up. Inside were some sort of spur-like thing, except that they had tiny gold metal wings on either side of them. It looked like they were meant to be worn on shoes.

"What do you think these do?" Joan asked as she looked at them.

"Well, there's nothing here to explain them so there's no convenient help." Navi said. "But there's wings on them. Maybe that could be a clue?"

"Hmm... Hold on, let me put them on." Joan adjusted the spurs to her boots and took a few steps foreword. At least that was her intention, but it was like all friction between her shoes and the ground just vanished as Joan then suddenly began to move across the ground like it was ice! Joan panicked. Afraid she would fall off the ledge. But when she glanced down she saw that she was off the platform, but still int the air!

"Haha! These must making my boots hover boots! I'm off the edge and I'm still he-!" Joan was cut off though when it seemed the power of the boots left her and she dropped down, but grabbed onto the edge of the platform just in time to pull herself up.

"I guess they have a limitation over how long you can hover in midair." Navi stated. "Best leave them off until we really need them."

"Good idea." Joan quickly agreed as she began to take the spurs off of her feet, and muttered to herself.

The rest of the temple was just as creepy as it was in the beginning, if not creepier. Joan was almost certain she could hear some sort of groaning choir, but she was able to mostly convince herself that it was all in her mind, and that the shadows and darkness was just getting to her. She did briefly wonder why there would be a temple like this, but she supposed that it was to be expected. After all you can't have one without the other. There always had to be an opposite to something. It made sense.

There were more traps for Joan to get past. Giant, swinging pendulum blades, spiked crushers, spike pits and high powered fans to blow her off edges of platforms and into the before mentioned spiked pits. Joan actually wanted to feel some pity for any thieves who may have attempted to come here since there was a strong chance they were no longer among the living.

Eventually Joan managed to make it to some sort of ship with wheels on a river of misty smoke. On bow of the ship was a wooden figurehead of a grey skeleton wearing a blood coloured shawl over it's head and clasping onto golden bells. Whatever the river was exactly, Joan could only guess. Not that she'd want to.

"Guess we have to go on that to continue that." Joan murmured as she looked for a way on and seeing a ledge close enough to jump off of she jumped onto the ship.

"Now how do we start this thing? Oh look, it's the Triforce symbol!" Navi hovered over said symbol. "Guess you have to play Zelda's Lullaby.

"Already on it."

As soon as Joan successfully played and finished the lullaby, the bells on the ship began to ring. The wheels of the ship began mturning ving and the ship began to move with a bobbing motion that Joan felt was much bigger then on an actual ship in water.

"I guess we wait 'till we're at the other side." Joan sighed as she ship moved slowly. She sat down and leaned back on her hands. "Might as well rest. I just have this feeling that we're close to finding that monster and stopping it!"

"Yeah, but where's Impa?" Navi asked. "She had a head start, but surely we would have seen some sign of her by now." Joan couldn't den that Navi made a good point. It would have been nice to have gone through the temple with the older Sheikah woman. Even if a part of Joan was made nervous by her.

"Well... Maybe she's already at the monster? If so, we should really hurry up and not be on this slow as heck ship!" Joan said the last part a little louder as she glared the the skeletal figurehead.

"Let's just try to conserve our energy and be thankful we have a chance to rest. We weren't prepared last time, but this time with the Lens of Truth, I know you will have an advantage!"

"Thanks Navi. Do you think Impa has one of these too?" Joan asked as she pointed to the lens.

"I don't know. Maybe, but don't hold your hopes up." Joan nodded and she looked behind the figurehead. There still looked a little more distance to go.

"Navi, I've been thinking of what you said about Sheik. I'll try to ask Impa about it when we find her. It's the only thing we can do to try and find out this little mystery of Sheik and that apprentice who died." Navi was a bit surprised to hear this from Joan but wasn't going to argue.

"Okay, that's good. Who better to ask then Impa, the master. For all we know, Sheik might be hiding something."

"He is a bit of a mystery. Then again, it's only naturally for everyone to have at least one secret."

After what felt like an eternity, Joan finally made it to the end of the ship's trip. She was very happy for this since the constant bobbing of the ship was beginning to make her queasy. But Joan wasn't going to get a break as the ship then began to rumble.

"Joan, I think the ship's sinking!"

"Then it's clear what I have to do!" Joan jumped onto the close by platform just as the ship sank into the unknown mist. Joan's body gave an involuntary shiver. Feeling glad that she didn't stay any longer on the cursed ship. Now Joan had to get to the platform on the other side of the room to go through the door that likely lead to where the final battle here would be.

"I don't think those hover spurs will let to float in the air long enough to get across. We're going to have to find another way."

"Hey, aren't those bomb flowers over there." Joan pointed to the other side near a tall raven statue where there were a mass of bomb flowers growing around it.

"Yeah, your right. You have an idea?"

"You betcha." Joan took out her bow and an arrow and began to aim for the plant that Joan felt would most likely make the others go off with it.

"Wait, Joan... What are you..." Navi never got to finish her sentence as Joan fired the arrow, and seconds later the blast of bomb flowers echoed in the chamber followed by the tall statue collapsing across the gap between the two platforms making a bridge for Joan to cross.

"Think I'll get in trouble for that?"

"I'm... I'm sure they understand..." Truthfully Navi was unsure, but Joan was already half way across so she flew after the blonde Hylian quickly. Now on the other side, Joan moved to open the door that would lead her closer to the end. But it opened itself. Joan stepped back quickly and drew her sword and shield, ready to strike but she then froze.

In the doorway stood Impa, but she looked badly battered and bruised and there were even a few bleeding cuts. She had one arm around her torso as she used the other to support herself. Seeing her knees weaken, Joan immediately went to her side and helped her sit down.

"Impa, are- what happened?" Joan had nearly asked if Impa was okay, but stopped since that was a stupid question to ask, and the answer was obvious.

"I tried to defeat the shadow monster once and for all." Impa replied calmly, as she tried to wince from her wounds. "After what happened three years ago, I felt that this time I could not simply seal it. I knew I didn't have the ability to do so, but it was my duty to do so no matter what the cost to myself. But I know I have to become the Sage of Shadow, and I won't be of much use if I'm dead."

"Is there anything I can do for you?" Joan quickly offered before she rooted through her satchel and took out her water flask and uncapped it before offering it to the Sheikah. "Here's some water."

"Thank you." Impa took the water and took a generous gulp from it. After handing it back to Joan, Impa spoke.

"Joan, I know you have a lot of questions, but I can't address them right now. You need to go on and defeat this fiend before it's too late! I tried and failed, but I know I've weakened it so that may be of help to you. Just please go on, and prove that you are indeed the Hero of Time!"

"I will. I promise!" Joan assured her. "But what about your wounds?"

"I'll be fine. Once I'm able to awaken as a sage it will be like I never had them." Impa chuckled a bit. "But go. Now!"

"Gotcha!" Joan quickly stood up and began to run down the chamber. Determination pumping her heart and giving it an adrenaline rush.

Reaching the final door, Joan through it open and rushed inside. But in her rush she didn't look out for the hole in the ground and she fell down a deep chamber and landed on something that bounced her up once or twice after she landed on it. Looking down, Joan leaned down to touch it and noted that it's texture was similar to the material used in drums. Was she on some sort of giant drum?

Something else hit the drum top and caused Joan to bounce followed by another and turning around Joan saw two giant, grey hands that were not connected to anything but lightly tapping on the drum. Looking up, she saw a giant grey body that seemed to be controlling the two hands with a red eyeball head that seemed to be protected by petal like skin. The body became invisible though the Lens of Truth allowed Joan to see it still. It's hands remained visible however.

Joan really felt she had her work cut out for her. The hands would move around and occasionally bang on the drum causing Joan to fall or loose her aim whenever a hand would come towards her. Ending in her being squeezed painfully tight until it let her get or with Joan rolling to the side. It was tricky, but Joan kept her bow in one hand and would switch between using a bow and arrow to stun both hands and then the eye of the beast to they using her sword to slash it's eye.

It was difficult also to avoid the edge as there was an acid like substance there that just made Joan feel some anxiety as she continued the fight. She was actually starting to get a headache. Possibly from using the Lens of Truth for so long on one eye.

But it finally came. The final blow on it's wretched eye. It's hands banged on the drum rapidly almost like it was calling out for help. But it was useless as it slowed to a stop and then finally faded to the shadows from where it came. Joan licked her lips and took the lens off so she could rub her face. It was a tiresome battle. But she was victorious. And soon, the familiar white light began to fade her vision.

_Fading away, the light revealed once more the Chamber of the Sages. Joan was happy to see Impa standing before her, with no sign of her previous injuries. Perhaps it was one of the benefits of awakening as a sage?_

_"I always expected you would come, Joan. The girl with the noble Zelda's Ocarina."_

_"Then, have I lived up to your expectations as the Hero of Time?" Joan asked._

_"Indeed you have. Maybe even going beyond them. __We Sheikah have served the royalty of Hyrule from generation to __generation as attendants. However, on that day seven years ago, __Ganondorf suddenly attacked and Hyrule Castle surrendered after __a short time. Ganondorf's target was one of the keys to the Sacred __Realm, the hidden treasure of the Royal Family, the Ocarina of __Time!_

_"My duty bound me to take Zelda out of Ganondorf's reach. When last_ _I saw you, as we made our escape from the castle, you were just a_ _lass. Now I see that you have become a fine hero."_

_"I'm glad to hear that." Joan replied with a smile. It was soon replaced with a surprised look as Impa gave a small smile back in return._

_"Now I'm sure you have questions. Please keep in mind that I can not directly answer them. The true answer will reveal itself in time." Joan nodded and asked what was perhaps the most important question to ask._

_"Where is Princess Zelda? Is she safe?"_

_There's nothing to worry about." Impa assured. "The Princess is safe now. Soon,_ _you'll meet Princess Zelda face to face, and she will explain __everything. That is when we, the Six Wise Ones, will seal up __the Evil King and return peace to Hyrule."_

_"Alright... My only other question is about... Sheik." Impa's smile faltered back to her usual stern look. "I... He mentioned an apprentice of your's dying some years ago sealing of the monster in the Shadow Temple. But when I went back seven years to get the Lens of Truth, I met him and he said he was your apprentice. It's bothering me but I don't know why."_

_"... Zelda will explain it once you finally see her. __I have to stay here." Impa quickly changed the subject to end the conversation. "You go to Princess Zelda's side and protect __her on my behalf."_

_"Of course."_

_"Good. Now I put my power, which should be helpful to __you, into this Medallion!"_

_The medallion soon appeared in front of Joan. Purple and with the engraving of the Shadow Temple symbol. Joan took it and looked it over before Impa spoke again._

_"Joan. Please look out for the Princess!"_

_"I will. I promise."_

Joan blinked and found herself back in the drum room. Looking behind her she saw a ladder had appeared that led all the way back up. She looked back to her right gauntlet and saw a purple circle coloured in. Just one more temple to go to and she could finally take down Ganondorf and free Hyrule from his grip!

"Joan? Did you ask Impa about Sheik?" Navi asked as Joan made her way to the ladder.

"Yeah, but she wouldn't really answer me. Said we'd find out once we met Zelda again." Joan began to climb the ladder as she asked, "Do you think we should ask Sheik?"

"... I thin it's best we wait until we meet Zelda. Sheik probably won't say anything either." Navi stated.

"Guess you're right." Joan mumbled. "We'll ask Sheik if Zelda doesn't say anything."

The trip out of the temple was long and tiring as she had to pass every single obstacle she had already passed. Eventually Joan made it back into the outside world, though she had to blink her eyes to get used to the light outside the temple. The evening sun which was coming close to a point of twilight. Joan already knew what she wanted to do. Visit Epona and then see if there's any room at the inn.

If not, the stable would be the next best thing to a place with a free bed.


	25. The Gerudo Fortress

Joan was able to gain plenty of rest that night, having been able to get a place in the inn to sleep in. After she had woken up and had a meal, Joan retrieved Epona and began to make her way towards the desert. While not entirely sure where it was, she did recall Princess Zelda mention that it was in the west, so that seemed like a good direction to go if any. Fortunately there was a sign that helped point Joan in the right direction that said, 'Gerudo Valley'.

Joan knew she had to be careful since this was Ganondorf's homeland, and there could be anyone or anything here that might try to bring harm to her. Having never been to the place of course, all Joan could really do was try to find her way to the temple and see what would come along the way whether it be for better or worse.

As Joan went further on, the amount of plant life diminished, and the air became warmer until Joan found herself in the valley an hour or two before the sun would set again. There were a few tiny shrubs but they looked extremely dry.

"So I think we just have to get through this valley, and we should arrive at the desert and then hopefully find the Spirit Temple."

"I don't think it'll be that easy. You're forgetting about the Gerudos who live here." Navi reminded Joan as she rode Epona further into the desert. "Ganondorf is their king, so we should keep our guard up around them."

"Good point."

After Joan rode further on, she began to hear the sound of running water. Following the sound Joan came to the source. Joan found a broken bridge that went over a deep ravine with a river flowing down. Joan was beginning to wonder why exactly the bridge was out to begin with, when she heard someone calling on the other side.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" Joan saw a man somewhere near or around his fifties standing by a tent that looked to have seen better days. Joan cleared her throat before calling back,

"I need to get through. Is there another way around?"

"No, but I can put a plank across for you and your horse."

"Thank you."

After finding the longest plank of wood he had with him, the man put it down over the long gap. Joan got off Epona and took her reins to lead her across safely since she didn't trust herself to ride Epona across.

"Thanks again, sir."

"It's not a problem, but would you mind telling me why a young girl is in the Gerudo Valley? You're not thinking of becoming a thief, are you?" the man asked, as he gave Joan a weary look.

"No! I just need to get to the desert! Why would you think I'd want to be a thief?"

"That's what the Gerudo are. Not that my men had a problem with that. You see, my men and I were called here to fix the bridge but after we finished making the plans my men left! They said working as carpenters isn't cool, and they went to the Gerudo's Fortress to become thieves! And it gets worse! The Gerudos are an all female race with exception to that Ganondorf, so I can only imagine what they'll do to my men! They could get executed for all I know!"

"Let me see if I got this right." Joan said slowly, as she thought over the carpenter's words. "Your men wanted to become thieves, and so they went to an all female group in the false belief they would be welcomed with open arms?"

"I'm not going to lie, my men are good at fixing stuff when we all put our heads together, but..." He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "They're not really the brightest lot you could ask for in all honesty. And that's putting it lightly."

"I'm sorry to hear that. If you like, I could go and look for them." Joan offered. "I mean, I would be safer then them because I'm a girl. Right?"

"In comparison you would be safer. At least you would have a higher chance of not being executed. But I'm not sure. You see, the Gerudo have a dislike for Hyrulean culture. Mainly when it comes to gender roles between men and women, men being the bread winner and women minding the home. Of course that belief isn't as strong today as it was back then!" he added quickly. Probably afraid of offending Joan. "It's just that while there isn't much of a problem with it, you don't see too many women working as architects or wielding swords who are Hylian."

It was funny in a way. Joan only really noticed now how she hadn't known any women who could physically fight, with the exception of course being Impa. Maybe her shadow too if that counted.

"But... You do have a sword and shield, and you look well traveled." the man went on, thinking deeply about this. "So I suppose they might be willing to give you a chance. I heard that a Hylian woman use to live here so they might allow female Hylians in if they prove their worth."

"So you're okay with me going?"

"You have to go through the fortress anyway to get to the desert so if you could look for my men, I would appreciate it very much."

"Alright then. Do you mind looking after my horse until I come back?"

"Sure." Joan handed the carpenter Epona's reins and then began to walk down the rest of the route.

The fortress was made of grey stone and looked connected to the solid rock behind it, with some wood on it used here and there. There were Gerudo guards everywhere. All of them tanned from the sun and had red hair (some lighter or darker then others), and were clearly dressed for comfort in the desert.

"Alright, there's a good few of them. But we'll get past them." Joan whispered to Navi as she crouched behind a rock and looked for an opening to get inside. All the guards were armed, and Joan was trying to see if there was a pattern in their movements. There was a sort of pattern, but Joan would have to move quick to get inside without being spotted.

Once the nearest Gerudo had turned her back and began walking the opposite way, Joan took the opportunity and ran towards the opening into the fortress.

The inside of the fortress was dimly lit only by torches and the occasional ray of light coming through the open windows or doorways to outside, and decorated with plenty of things such as skulls of animals who had perished in the desert and shinning weapons. It was a maze-like structure and Joan found herself getting a bit lost as she passed areas where it looked like the Gerudo ate and slept, and having to stealth by more guards as she continued on.

Eventually as Joan came up to one of the higher levels, she began to notice empty cells and felt that she was close to finding the carpenters so she picked up her pace bu she kept her ears out for more guards.

"Hey, you! Young lady, over there! Look over here, inside the cell!" Joan found the cell she was looking for after turning around a corner. Four carpenters were inside the cell and noticing Joan, they were all clinging to the bars while having desperate yet hopeful looks.

"Are you carpenters? Because your boss asked me to look for you." Joan said as she walked over to their cell.

"Y-yes. We were... Well, we were tired of being carpenters and thought that being thieves would pay off." the tallest of the explained.

"But they weren't so welcoming I'm assuming?"

"No! They locked us up here just because we're men!" another man with a thick mustache answered.

"You went to an group of female warrior thieves who don't seem to like the idea of outside males joining, what did you expect?" Joan asked bluntly.

"In hindsight, we may not have thought it through." admitted a prematuring balding carpenter

"Well it wasn't just the thieving. We also figured that maybe we could be their boyfriends." this was sheepishly said by the shortest of the men.

"Boyfriends?" Joan questioned as she furrowed her eyebrows. It sounded a bit strange to her that Gerudo would look for boyfriends.

"You see since the Gerudos are an all female race, they look for boyfriends outside of the valley. If not for love, then for reproduction."

"I'm sorry I asked." Joan mumbled as she gained a horrid mental image in her mind. "But do you know where I could find the key to your cell?"

"One of the guards should-"

"Look out, behind you!" Joan just noticed a shadow behind her and turned around just in time to dodge out of the way of a blade. Joan drew her sword and shield quickly as she looked at her opponent. A Gerudo in red wielding a pair of scimatar swords, and looking ready to fight.

"Oh, so you think you can beat me, girl?" scowled the guard. "Let's see if you can actually fight as good as you dodge!"

The guard ran towards Joan and swiped at her torso only for Joan to block with her shield and block another attack with her sword. Joan mainly focused on defending herself as she tried to plot out an idea. Killing monsters, creatures and potentially Ganondorf was one thing. But Joan couldn't just kill the guard. She wouldn't have done that to the Gorons or the Zoras (unless there had been an absolute necessity to do so), so it wouldn't have been fair or just.

Seeing a pot, Joan tripped the Gerudo's feet to buy a short time for her to grab the pot. Dodging another attack by the guard, Joan moved around her and smashed it on her head. Joan's plan seemed to work as she had hopped as the guard fell to the ground unconscious. Joan wasted no time searching her for the cell key and once she did she went to the cell and opened it up to free the guards.

"Oh, thank you for saving us, good miss!" the shorter carpenter shuck Joan's hands gratefully. "I'm not sure what would have happened to us if you hadn't come for us."

"It's nothing you need to thank me for. I guess it's just luck for you that I need to get to the desert." Joan waved it off. "Let's just hide this guard so no one finds her 'till she wakes up. Then I'll take you back to your boss."

"There's a blanket in the cell. We could put that over her." suggested the taller guard.

"Alright then." Joan put her arms under the knocked out Gerudo's and began to pull her into the cell. After pulling said blanket over her and closing the cell door, Joan began to lead the men back outside the fortress. It was more difficult then Joan had expected since once or twice on of the men caused a disturbance that would alert a nearby guard and Joan would be forced to knock them out and hide them somewhere quickly.

Needless to say, Joan couldn't actually blame the Gerudos for imprisoning the men.

It was evening once the group returned to the camp where the head carpenter was. All the men went inside the tent, likely for the boss to berate them for their stupidity while Joan waited outside with her horse. Not wanting to pry in on the conversation when it was more or less obvious what was being said.

"Miss, I want to thank you again for helping my boys escape." The boss of the carpenters said as he came out of the tent. "If there's anything I can do for you, feel free to ask. If you ever need something built, consider the price to be halved!"

"I'll keep that in mind."

"So are you still planning to go to the desert?"

"I think I'll go during the night. It should be cooler then and I might have an easier time getting past the guards."

"Well I wish you luck with whatever it is you're going to be doing there. You're more then welcome to stay here until then." the man kindly offered.

"Thank you very much."

Once it was twilight, Joan left the carpenters with a farewell and rode Epona up until she neared the fortress and got off.

"Okay, Epona. There might be some guards out so you're going to have to be quiet. Okay girl?" Epona gave a small bobbing motion with her head followed by a grunt. "I'll take that as a yes."

Holding onto Epona's reins rightly, Joan crept past the fortress as best she could without alerting anyone to her presence.

"I didn't realise how cold it would be here at night." Joan whispered to Navi as they neared the gate leading to the desert.

"Well there's nothing to keep the heat down, so it's not shocking." Navi whispered back as they stopped by the gate, which was unfortunately down. "Great, the gate is down. Now what?" Joan looked around before noticing the ladder leading up to the watchtower.

"Maybe there's a switch up there? I'll go climb up. Epona, stay."

Joan let go of Epona's reins and walked to the ladder and began to climb up. She felt that she would soon be out of here and in the clear. However as soon as she reached the top, she was met with a foot kicking her face with such force that the shock caused Joan to let go of the ladder and fall to the ground.

Joan groaned in pain as she felt he nose which was now bleeding, though it didn't feel broken. It felt crooked though, like it might be out of place. Opening her eyes Joan was a bit taken back as she saw so many blades pointing towards her throat by the Gerudo guards. Jumping down from the watchtower and walking towards Joan was the Gerudo in red that Joan had knocked out when she had freed the carpenters. But now she was smirking down at the Hylian.

"Any regrets now?"


	26. Aisha

Joan knew she was in big trouble. There had to be at least ten guards surrounding her. Eleven including the Gerudo in red. No doubt ticked off about Joan knocking her out with a pot. Joan glanced quickly to Epona. Said horse was tugging against the reins that one of the guards were holding onto. Maybe if Joan bought some time Epona would be able to break free.

"You know, it can't be denied that you actually did an impressive job earlier." Joan assumed the red clothed Gerudo was the leader, or at least some sort of important figure among he people. Two of the Gerudo guards took Joan's arms and tugged her up so she was standing, though they kept firm grips on her arms. "It's not everyday a Hylian woman does something liked this. And in combat against me, you were a worthy and honourable opponent. Anyone else wouldn't have hesitated to shed blood, but you looked for an alternative." Joan was confused. Was the woman actually complimenting her? But that confused look turned into a scowl.

"Shame I can't say the same about you for nearly breaking my nose!" The Gerudo rolled her eyes and walked up to Joan as the guards holding Joan's arms let her go. Said girl only realised now that she was possibly the shortest person here. But almost as quickly as that thought came to Joan, the swordswoman took Joan's face in her hands and pressed her thumbs onto Joan's nose. Then Joan felt a sharp pain as her nose was pushed back into place.

"OW!" Joan's hands shot to her nose out of bodily instinct. She was surprised to see that her nose felt back in place.

"There. Happy?"

"Erm... Yeah, thanks."

"Good." she nodded. "Now what's your name?"

"No offense, but I'm not one for just giving my name to anyone who just kick at my face or hold weapons to my throat." Joan dead panned. The were a few low chuckles heard from the women.

"Fine, how about this. My name is Aisha. Now your name?" The Gerudo in red folded her arms as she said this. Joan sighed and responded in reluctance.

"My name's Joan."

"Joan, eh?" Aisha clicked her tongue and seemed to think something over before she smiled. "Well then, Joan. I feel it only right to give this to you. I'm sure Nabooru would accept this decision. Once I tell her why of course." Aisha took out an aged piece of paper with brown string attached and handed it to Joan. Joan took it and saw a Gerudo symbol on it.

"And this is...?"

"A Gerudo Token. This is given to a select few to prove you are allowed on our land."

"Really?" Joan was surprised seeing how this was not at all what she had expected to hear.

"Of course! You managed to get past all the guards to find and release those useless men! Ever think of becoming a thief? You definitely have the stealth skills."

"Not really, I'm... Kinda busy with some other stuff" Joan said sheepishly. "I actually have to get to the Spirit Temple through the desert."

"Why? Do you wish to speak to Nabooru?"

"Sorry, but who exactly IS Nabooru? Is she your leader?" asked Joan.

"She would be our leader. Second only to Ganondorf, our king." Joan's fingers flinched. Remembering how dangerous this territory truly was. If there weren't so many Gerudos around her, Joan probably would have felt safe enough to say her opinions on Ganondorf. To do that before she was even at the Spirit Temple would be incredibly stupid.

"I see. I really need to go to the Spirit Temple for personal reasons, but if Nabooru is there do you think she would speak to me?"

"Possibly, but I wouldn't recommend going to through the desert now. It may be cooler, but the darkness makes it harder to see so I would suggest you stay here at least until the sun rises. Now come on. We're thieves but we're capable of hospitality." Aisha looked to the guard holding Epona's reins. The mare was still tugging against them but she seemed to sense that things were calmer now as she wasn't using as much force now. "Take her horse to the stables."

"I think I'll take Epona there myself and let the guard lead the way." Joan said cooly. She didn't care if she had permission to be on Gerudo territory. She didn't exactly trust having her horse led away unless she knew where Epona actually was. Aisha gave a small shrug.

"If that makes you more comfortable, sure." Aisha then addressed the guard. "Make sure you take her to the dining hall afterwards."

"Of course." The guard let Joan take the reins and Epona willingly followed her as the guard led them towards the stables. Joan was almost sure the guard was annoyed about how Epona obeyed Joan without question while she didn't seem as liked by the horse.

The stables were close to some sort of archery field with which also had a sort of small horse track. Most of the horses in the stables had dark furs of black and brown, and only one or two were a sandy colour.

"Here's a free stall." The Gerudo guard gestured to one stall at the end of the stables and Joan gave a nod of thanks before leading Epona there.

"I'll come back as soon as I can girl." Joan murmured as she rubbed her horse's nose before she left with the guard. Joan briefly wondered if she could have remembered the way herself since she could faintly remember going through the hall, but was going to say anything and just allowed the guard to lead her through the fortress and inside.

The hall was just as simple as the other areas in the fortress. Wooden table with benches and a large fire pit for heat still had a burning flame though it didn't seem as large as it possibly was when it was lit at an earlier point that day. Aisha was sitting at one of the tables closer to the dying fire and holding a cup with some sort of drink while on the other side of the table there was a small dinner.

"So you find the stables okay?" Aisha asked as Joan walked inside.

"Yeah. I did."

"Good. Then sit down and eat." Aisha gestured to the food. It was a simple dish with fried rice and beef, but it did smell good. The idea that there could have been poison in the food did cross Joan's mind for a second but she decided that was just her mind being paranoid for a moment. Joan sat down across from the Gerudo and began to take small, testing bites of the food to carefully taste it. She slowly took bigger bites as she grew more comfortable that the food was safe.

"It's not some splendid cuisine, but it's still good." Aisha said after a moment or two. Probably wanting to start up a conversation.

"Well... It is." Joan agreed, though feeling a bit awkward.

"So where are you from exactly?"

"... Lived in a forest for most of my life." Joan replied, feeling it to be a safe answer as long as she didn't give any specific names.

"It's probably peaceful in places like that." Aisha said as she took a sip from her cup. Joan could get a faint smell frim the drink. Strong and a bit bitter. Not something she would like to drink really. ""Not that it isn't peaceful here. When you're not stealing or on guard duty, it can be pretty relaxing here."

"Are you trying to convince me to join?" Joan asked with a small smile.

"No, but I suppose if I was I would have to come up with something better then that seeing how you caught on so fast." Aisha laughed a little while Joan gave a tiny chuckle before she continued on finishing her meal.

"So, would you have a high rank among the Gerudo?" Joan asked. Wanting to keep things friendly.

"I would be the third highest. Below Nabooru and Ganondorf as I mentioned earlier. Nabooru put me in charge before she left for the Spirit Temple"

"Uh, I actually have a question about Ganondorf. How exactly is he Gerudo when you're meant to be an all female race?" Joan questioned. It was something she had been wondering about for ages and wouldn't mind finding out if it was possible.

"That is true," Aisha nodded. "But you see every hundred years, a male is actually born into the Gerudo race and by law he is destined to rule as king. His birth mother actually died upon childbirth and he was taken care of by the witches koume and kotake."

"That feels a bit of a... contradiction considering your views on men though." Joan pointed out. She felt satisfied that some of her curiosity was mostly satisfied, though it did lead to more questions.

"I can understand what you mean, but it's just how our society is here."

"So you... Support Ganondorf's rule?" Joan questioned, a little unsure whether it was the right thing to ask but did so anyway. Aisha didn't answer at first. She looked to nearby doorways before looking back to Joan.

"I don't have any problems with a man ruling us as long as he is Gerudo. Ganondorf however... Honestly, I don't like him."

"Really?" Joan tried to hide the slight happiness she was feeling. Knowing that the guard who could have had her thrown in a cell or killed didn't like the pig faced git made her feel a bit safer here.

"Yes. For good reason too." Aisha's eyes narrowed as she put her cup down. "Though it's not something I can say freely."

"Because most Gerudo here are willing to stand by Ganondorf out of tradition?" Joan guessed.

"Yes, though I don't think anyone would truly mind if he were to ever... have an, 'accident'. But like I said, it's hard to say things freely. There's Nabooru for example."

"What about her?" Joan asked.

"She disappeared seven years ago." Aisha answered. "She told me she was going to the Spirit Temple to mess up Ganondorf's plans since that's where he used to have his headquarters. No one has seen her since. Ganondorf suggested she might have died in the desert."

"But you don't believe that?"

"No." There were no more words for a moment or two. During the silence Aisha's eyes went to Joan's necklace. She looked at it like it was causing her to remember something "Nice necklace." she commented. "Where'd you get it?"

"It was my mum's." Joan answered though a bit hesitant. "All I have of her."

Aisha took the pendant in her hand to look at it. Joan fought back the sudden urge to snatch it back. The Gerudo was just looking at it. If it became more then that, Joan would snatch it back no matter what. But Aisha just examined it. Brushing her thumb over the engraved bird before turning it around so the name was visible for her to see and Joan instantly saw her stiffen her hands before relaxing them.

"... This belonged to your mum, right?"

"Yeah."

Aisha didn't say anything immediately but she let the pendant go and seemed to think something over in her mind.

"... There was another person I feel was taken away because of Ganondorf." Aisha eventually said. "Not in the same way as Nabooru. She had to flee because Ganondorf was trying to get her killed. I think one of the main reasons was because she was Hylain." Joan's interest rose. She remembered the carpenter boss mentioned something about a Hylian having lived here. "She grew up here since we were kids. She came here because she was in the desert with her father with a horse and cart. The horse broke free and ran out of fear of something and her father left her to go find the horse. But he didn't come back.

"So the girl took what supplies she could and began to go through the desert. Fighting against heat and the sand carrying winds. Eventually she neared the sand river and for a moment it seemed she was stranded until one of the Gerudo returning from the Spirit Temple spotted her and offered to let her stay with them until her father was found at least. But he didn't show up. So after nearly two weeks, the girl was given a choice. Either leave or train as a Gerudo. Why she choose what she did I still don't know, but she chose the later.

"I actually became friends with her. She was sort of friends with Nabooru too, but not as close."

"What was her name?" Aisha looked Joan dead in the eye.

"Aya."

* * *

**Okay, now I normally don't address the people who feels the need to leave negative comments without giving an actual reason seeing how they will try to make it sound like I'm one of those writer's who think they're the next big writer. But I have a feeling this will possibly happen so I'm going to say this. I know, that the Gerudo I named Aisha, is also known as Aveil. That is in Majora's Mask. There is a child and adult version of Malon in that game too, but neither of them have a name even close to Malon. I might be just paranoid here, but seeing how there was once a guest review complaining about Joan for the sole fact she was a girl before I deleted it, I figured it couldn't hurt to put this down.**

**And for those who want to complain about Joan's mother, I want to give Joan what Link didn't have. Information on at least one parental figure. I think it's only fair. So please don't complain about this.**

**Or complain about me putting this note down in general.**


	27. Aya

Joan looked at Aisha as her mouth opened and closed like a fish. Trying to get some sort of word out.

"... It could have been a different woman." Joan finally said quickly. "Aya might not be an uncommon name."

"How many Aya's have you met?" Aisha asked bluntly.

"... That doesn't mean the Aya your thinking of is my mum."

"Look kid. I can understand that this is a bit of a shock for you, but the truth is that your mother did live here and was a thief. She had that necklace the day she came here. She said it was a gift from her father."

"Give me proof. A name alone doesn't prove nothing." Joan was flexing her fingers as she tried to keep calm. Would she still care for her dead mother even if she was a thief? Of course. But if there was no proof, then it just sounded like an insult. Aisha stood up from the table.

"Wait here then. I'll be right back." Aisha left the hall leaving Joan to keep herself calm. Aisha's proof better be genuine. That was all Joan could think of. There was a bit of conflict in her mind though. If the Gerudo really did know her mother, then surely Joan would be able to know her. Maybe even her father too if possible. Not too much time had gone by before Aisha returned holding a folded paper which was very yellow in age.

"Here's a letter she was able to sneak to me without anyone else knowing." Aisha handed the letter to Joan who took it before opening it as if it was incredibly delicate before she began to read the small, cursive writing.

_To Aisha,_

_I don't really expect you to be able to respond to this message, but I'll still ask how you are._

_I'm doing pretty fine. I'm not going to lie, I was never too sure if I could actually marry Fabien. Do I love him, yes. But marriage? I never did quite understand the point of it. But these last two years have been great. I miss the excitement of stealing with you and out smarting whatever moron we decide to rob, but I don't think I could really trade in this experience for anything. Especially since there's been a happy new development._

_I'm pregnant! About two months along if the math is right. Fabien's already working on a cradle when he isn't on duty. Honestly though, we may end up buying one. But it's still a nice gesture. We're actually talking over baby names, and I think we've finally narrowed down our choices. If it's a girl she'll be called Joan. If it's a boy he'll be called Link. Both of them are simple, but I think they're nice names. If they weren't I would probably hit Fabien around the head._

_I tried my hand at knitting so I could make a teddy bear for when the baby's born. I however seem to always end up creating some horribly disfigured creature just begging to be put out of it's misery. __I can already imagine holding that baby and spoiling them rotting. Fabien's sure the baby will be blonde since we're both blonde. He's made a bet with me that the baby will have either his blue eyes or my brown ones. I hope it has mine, or I loose twenty rupees!_

_Castle Town has been kind to me so far. There have been difficulty from one or two people we may-or-may-not have robbed in the past, but who cares? I want to live in the now. Even if the desert will always have it's place in the core of my heart. It was my home for nearly twenty years since my father went missing, and you'll always be my best friend, and of course Nabooru will be my friend also. I plan to visit the town plaza often with my baby once it comes on sunny afternoons. Since there's no problems with Gerudos here (when they're not here on business of course.), maybe you could visit?_

_However, I have heard of dark talks. Fabien says that there's nothing to worry about right now. But we are worried that if luck becomes ill, that there may be a civil war. But there's just a chance that it will not happen so that's all Fabien and I can hold onto._

_Hoping we'll meet again someday,_

_Aya._

After finishing the letter, Joan reread the letter about two more times. Carefully looking over each and every letter of the words. So her dad's name was Fabien, eh? During her reading, Joan noticed that while her own hand writing probably wasn't as neat as her mother's, their i's were similar and like Joan's, her mother's a's and u's looked very close to one another. It actually caused her to smile as she looked over the letter.

"So you really did know my mum?" Joan folded the letter and placed it on the table.

"She was a good person. I could happily say we were friends." Aisha responded. "And if you don't mind me asking, what has happened to Aya?"

"... She died. During that civil war." Joan answered as she briefly glanced away. Aisha tightened her lips a bit, and Joan could tell that she was already expecting that answer. "If you don't mind me asking, how did mum and dad meet?"

"Let's see..." Aisha picked the cup she had been drinking from and swirled it's contents around a bit as she thought. "I think we were doing this robbery on a cart that was being transported to some rich lord. Your dad was one of the guards of the cart, and I think he sort felt love struck by Aya before she punched his stomach. He grabbed her necklace before we ran with what he took and he returned it to one of the guards. They met up several times a week before finally she fled to marry Fabien. That and Ganondorf was trying to get her killed. He never did trust her since she was Hylian, but he couldn't do anything simply because of that since she was Gerudo in all but blood here. But there were small attempts on her life. Poison in her drink, damaging the saddle of her horse and sometimes poisonous bugs would be found close to where she slept." Aisha then looked to Joan.

"But tell me? Why exactly are you planning one going to the Spirit Temple?"

"... I have business there that I can't really say."

"If it involves taking down Ganondorf, I don't think I would have much of a problem with that." Aisha said with a small smirk.

Joan spent the night sleeping in one of the chambers with several others since there were no separate bedrooms in the Gerudo Fortress. But Joan's sleep was nice as it could be. Joan was woken at dawn for breakfast and as soon as she had finished the small breakfast, Joan quickly retrieved Epona from the stables.

"Well, thanks for letting me stay the night, and from the meals." Joan was leading Epona towards the gates leading to the desert as Aisha walked by her side.

"Don't think nothing of it Joan." Aisha said as she brushed back some of her red hair. "I wish you luck with the Spirit Temple, and whatever you're doing there."

"Thanks." They stopped at the now open gates and Joan got on Epona.

"You want to head straight ahead." Aisha pointed straight ahead towards the endless sand. "You should keep going until you find a sand river. Your horse will be able to jump it. After that, you turn north-west. You got that?"

"Got it." Joan nodded.

"Good. Hope to see you again kid."

"Same here." Joan nodded before she rode off into the desert in speed.

Joan followed Aisha's instructions exactly as she gave them. Coming to the sand river, Joan was able to have Epona jump over it with no trouble and then headed in the north-west direction. The sun was hot and really coming down on Joan. She was feeling a headache coming to her, and had briefly stopped Epona so she could put on the head wrap she had received back at Goron City, hoping it would work in a desert as well as it did in a volcano. To Joan's joy it did and she was able to continue on without anymore problems.

"That must be the temple." Navi murmured once a tall structure came into sight. Riding closer to it, Joan could make out a sort of statue of a woman built into the rock behind it, with the entrance to the temple below her, There were a few palm trees around, and a sign that there was possibly a small source of water here before it dried up. Joan stopped Epona just outside the entrance.

"It must be big inside." Joan commented after giving a low whistle. "Do you think Ganondorf would be here? Aisha did say this was his headquarters."

"Yeah, but that was seven years ago. He's probably in Hyrule Castle if anything."

"You think that?"

"It seems like the place a guy like him would want to live. In a place that isn't even his."

"Good point." Joan looked up to the statue. "Let's see what the inside holds for us."

Entering inside the temple, the entrance hall was small with a cobra statue on either side of the staircase. Going up the staircase, Joan met a serious problem. There were two entrances. The first was a small tunnel that was far too small for Joan to get through. The other way was blocked off by a huge block that even even with the Goron's bracelet, Joan couldn't move an inch.

"I don't get it." Joan muttered as she folded her arms. "Is this some sort of twisted joke? Because I'm waiting for the punch-line and I know it ain't funny."

"Joan, you may want to read this." Navi called from the cobra statues. Joan came over and saw that the two statues had different messages.

_If you want to proceed to the past, you should return here with the pure heart of a child._

_If you want to travel to the future, you should return here with the power of silver from the past._

"I don't think so, Joan." Navi said. "Okay, they knew your mother. But we can't exactly say that we'll meet Aisha first if we go through the entrance. We could just meet a guard who won't believe us."

"But what about the token?"

"I'm not sure. I think we should at least try to find another way to the desert before we decide to go through the desert."

Feeling a bit disappointed, Joan couldn't deny that Navi was right. But going back in time seemed like a definite thing to do so she made her way back outside into the hot desert.

But of course who should appear by jumping off a nearby cliff but Sheik. If he was here to do what Joan felt he was going to do, then Joan quite possibly found the answer to the small problem she and Navi were just talking about. There was a tiny feeling of doubt in her due to the recent mystery of Shiek and Impa's deceased apprentice, but she would have to forget about that for now until later. Before Joan could open her mouth, Sheik started off on his usual little speeches.

"Past, present, future. The Master Sword is a ship with which you can sail upstream and downstream through time's river. The port for that ship is in the Temple of Time. To restore the Desert Colossus and enter the Spirit Temple, you must travel back through time's flow."

"No offense Sheik, but we kinda figured that out before you got here."

"Hm... That's actually good to hear. To be a hero does not depend on just strength, brawn or courage. A hero must have the intelligence to figure out a problem laying before them, and to plot a strategy for victory." Sheik told Joan as he took out his harp while Joan took out the Ocarina of Time. "Listen to this Requiem of Spirit. This melody will lead a child back to the desert."

The melody sounded as if it told of a struggle while going through the desert. Trying to find some sort of safety from the heat. Joan tried to imagine her mother going through the desert while this song played. It made Joan wonder briefly if maybe these songs were known by people other then Sheik and herself. It seemed likely, and if that was the case did the magic of these melodies work for all or was Joan just that special to be given the power to be given the opportunity to be lazy and skip walking?

But once Joan learned the song, Sheik put his harp away. Sheik stayed silent though. Not saying a word as he stepped back. Joan found this odd as usually he would say something before disappearing. Joan just took a step foreword when sand started to blow in between them. Giving Sheik a cloak to vanish under before it dispersed.

"Why did he... Never mind." Joan walked to Epona and rubbed her nose.

"We can leave Epona here. We have to find someplace safe."

"There's a cave over there." Navi said as she pointed out to a nearby cave. "Let's check it out."

The cave turned out to be a worthwhile look as inside was a Fairy's Fountain, with another Triforce symbol by the steps of the fountain. Leaving Epona near some water, Joan moved to the steps and began to play Zelda's Lullaby. Joan surprisingly was not as affected the fairy's cackle as she had other times. Maybe hearing it other times has made her grown use to it. The Great Fairy also looked exactly like those of power and courage which made it clear now that the three fairies were likely triplets. The Great Fairy smiled down on the young hero.

"Welcome Joan! I am the Great Fairy of Wisdom! I have heard of your good deeds, so I shall give you a new magical ability! The power of Nayru's Love! Receive it now!"

Joan felt a cool sensation on her hands like water. But that sensation then got colder until it was as if ice was encasing her hands before shattering into pieces as the feeling left.

"With Nayru's Love, you will be able to cast a defensive shield around your body. However this charm will only last for a limited time, and you will have to wait some time before casting again. You are always welcome here so don't be shy~" Like the other fairies, the Great Fairy of Wisdom left with a long cackle. Joan looked to her hands with a huge grin. This was definitely a power that would be useful for her. How could it not be?

Joan went to Epona who was drinking some of the water.

"I'm gonna have to leave you here a while. I'll be back soon though girl. Okay?" Epona gave a small grunt that Joan was going to assume meant that she was okay with it.

"I'll be back as soon as we're finished here. I promise." Joan took out her ocarina and played Prelude of Light to go to the Temple of Time.

To begin the last temple and finally bring an end to Ganondorf and restore peace throughout the land.


	28. The Spirit Temple

Joan felt thankful that Sheik thought her magical teleporting songs. Sure she didn't use them as often as expected and had yet to use the songs to the volcano crater in Death Mountain and to the Lost Woods, but it Joan was just so use to riding Epona and did enjoy it. Even if it did take longer. It definitely saved Joan time going to the Temple of Time and then to the Spirit Temple.

"You know, these songs are actually pretty useful." commented a ten year old Joan as she put her ocarina away. "If they could go just anywhere, I could become really lazy!"

"Then let's hope no such song exists." Navi replied a bit dryly.

"Whatever. Let's just get inside before the heat gets to me."

Going inside the temple, Joan felt a bit smug as she looked at the writings on the cobras. She's here as a child and gang it she's going to complete this temple! Since the small hole was the only way Joan to go through right now, she made her way there. However she was surprised to see a Gerudo dressed in faded pink with the same red hair already examining the hole. Joan wasn't too sure if she should approach her or not, but then thought of something. Didn't Aisha say that a Gerudo called Nabooru came here around this time. Could this be her? It was a gamble, but if she did know Joan's mother she felt that it was safe enough.

"Excuse me?" Joan stated bluntly as she walked to the Gerudo. The woman quickly stood up and seeing Joan she raised an eyebrow as she looked down at the young girl.

"I haven't seen you around, kid. What do you want here?" she demanded. Joan could tell instantly that this was someone who was normally in control of things.

"Well, I'm not doing much really. Just... looking around the temple." Joan lied. Well, half lied. What she was here for did involve looking around the temple.

"I find that hard to believe. But..." The Gerudo's eyes lit up. A devious plan coming to her mind by the looks of it. "If you're not doing anything else, how about you do a favour for me kid?" Her eyes then narrowed. "But first, you wouldn't happen to be one of Ganondorf's... followers, would you?" Joan felt it safe enough to give her opinion.

"Honestly, he's a pig faced git who looks like he's constantly ready to throw up and looks older then he probably really is." Joan dead panned. The Gerudo in pink then broke into a small laugh before she calmed down to respond with,

"You've got guts. I think I like you." Joan smiled a little before the Gerudo went on. "First of all, let me introduce myself. I'm Nabooru of the Gerudos." Joan forced down a grin as her suspicion was correct. "I'm a lone wolf thief. But don't get me wrong! Though we're both thieves, I'm completely different from Ganondorf." Nabooru spat the name out like she had accidently drank vinegar. "With his followers, he stole from women and children, and he even killed people!" Hearing the evil deeds of Ganondorf didn't surprise Joan at this stage, but they still disgusted her none the less.

"And I'm guessing you'll never bow to him, even though he's the Gerudo King?" Joan asked. Nabooru seemed a bit surprised that Joan knew this but quickly brushed it off.

"You got that right kid! I refuse to bow to such an evil man! There are others who feel the same, but I plan to end his plans myself! By the way, what is your name, kid?"

"Joan. My name's Joan." Joan answered. Nabooru furrowed her eyebrows and wrinkled her nose a bit. "Joan?! What kind of name is that?"

"The one that my mum Aya gave me." Joan answered quickly. "You knew here right? She was friends with you and Aisha. This was her necklace." Joan held up the pendant of her mother's necklace while Nabooru gave Joan a disbelieving look. Nabooru practically snatched at the pendant to hold it and examined it. But looking it over, Nabooru's look of disbelief disappeared.

"So you're really her kid? That baby Asiha said Aya was having?" Nabooru stood back and looked Joan up and down. "Hmm... You don't exactly look like her." But Nabooru then began to smile. "But you definitely have your mother's creative words for Ganondorf."

"Good to know you believe me."

"Well, there few ways you could have known who your mother was friends with here." Nabooru waved it off. "But here's another question for you. Is your mother alive?" Joan just shuck her head. Nabooru sighed like she was expecting that answer. "I had a feeling she had died. I don't know how, but sometime during the civil war years ago, I just... Sensed something happened to her, and that Fabien she married." Joan began to wonder when Nabooru said that. Did that mean something? Was it possible that Nabooru was-

"I suppose Joan isn't the worst name they could have chosen." Nabooru commented. "If memory serves right, you would have been called Link if you were a boy. But let's get back to the main problem at hand. Inside that hole there, is the western wing of the temple. At the end of this should be a treasure on the statue's right hand. The treasure is the Silver Gauntlets. If you equip them, you can easily push and pull very heavy things!"

"Like that block right over there?" Joan asked as she pointed to the block at the other side of the room. She could already find an instant use for these gauntlets.

"Exactly!" Nabooru then frowned and seemed to see what Joan might have had in mind. " No, no, no, kid! Don't even think about taking this treasure for yourself! The Silver Gauntlets won't fit a little kid like you if you try to equip them! Aya's kid or not, I want you to be a good little girl and give them to me! Ganondorf and his minions are using the Spirit Temple as a hideout. Only the Silver Gauntlets will allow me to sneak deep into the temple. Once there, I'm going to steal all the treasure inside and mess up their plans! How about it? Will you do it?"

Joan felt a little uneasy. If Nabooru was suppose to disappear, shouldn't Joan perhaps decline? Or maybe keep the gauntlets for herself and lie that she didn't find them? But then again, maybe it couldn't hurt to give Nabooru the gauntlets? Maybe she could actually stop Ganondorf? But either way, Joan still needed those gauntlets and couldn't make any sort of progress if she didn't have them.

"Okay. If you really need them, sure. I'll go get them."

"Thanks, kid! You and I, let's give Ganondorf and his followers a big surprise, shall we? If you can successfully get the Silver Gauntlets, I'll do something great for you!" Nabooru promised. Joan would have raised an eyebrow at that promise. While she did trust Nabooru at the moment to not double cross her or anything, the promise of something great just felt a bit iffy from someone who admitted to being a thief. Even if they're a more honest one.

"Just promise you won't switch to Ganondorf's side and we got a deal." Joan mumbled before she got down and began to crawl her way through the small tunnel, and into the western wing of the Spirit Temple.

The inside was dusty with little detail when in came to decoration. There weren't so many traps as there had been in the Shadow Temple (Thank Nayru.), but there were more puzzles to solve. Mostly just involving the sunlight though. Thankfully there were no need for any of her adult items, which was good as Joan did make an attempt to use her longshot to scale up a wall much easier. The Hylian wasn't sure how it could have gone wrong this time. She had just ended up falling to the ground. Luckily falling where there was a small pile of sand.

One of the chambers Joan would definitely remember going through was one of a woman sitting in a lotus position. No doubt Gerudo from the clothes she was wearing. From there Joan went through a hallway that led to some sort of empty throne room. With nothing there of real interest to stand out as anything significant, Joan decided to just go through the doorway behind the throne and hope there wasn't anything important here that she missed.

Beyond that doorway was the outside. On the right hand of the statue above the temple, with a wooden chest with gold markings just a few steps away from her. Joan eagerly made her way to the chest and while the lied was stiff, was able to force the lid open and peered inside. Within the chest were the Silver Gauntlets. LEather gauntlets with silver on top with a single ruby each.

"Too bad we can't keep them. They would have been definitely useful." Joan commented before she attempted to try one on, only for it to slip onto the floor. "... At least as an adult."

"True, but we have to keep our promise to Nabooru and-" A loud, feminine yell interrupted Navi. "What was..."

"Hey! Where are you taking me?! Yeearggh! Let me go!"

Joan ran to the edge of the hand and looked down below. Outside the temple, Nabooru was sinking into some sort of red-ish quicksand. The likely cause behind this were the two aged, grey haired witches flying around her on broomsticks. All Joan could make out from this height was that they wore black and had green skin like Ganondorf. Joan was panicking as she tried to think of a solution quickly. Could she jump down from this height? Surely the fall couldn't kill her. Maybe she wouldn't be harmed at all if she managed to fall into the sand.

"You... You fiends! Ganondorf's minions!" Nabooru spat before she noticed Joan and started waving at her to run as she sank deeper and deeper. "Joan! Get out of here! Now! These witches! They're using black magic on me!"

Joan wanted to say something. Maybe that she would save Nabooru or that she would try something, anything. But her mind just drew a blank as Nabooru was finally consumed by the red quicksand which then evaporated like it was never there. The witches themselves just cackled before they flew in towards the entrance of the temple.

"Wh-what did they do to her? Did they take her somewhere else?" Joan questioned Navi as she tried to keep herself calm.

"Looks like it, but we should get back to the Temple of Time if we're going to progress. Something tells me we aren't going to be seeing the last of those hags."

"I know, but..."

"Joan, I know this isn't exactly what you want to hear she was going to disappear. No matter what we did this was bound to happen."

"Yeah... Yeah, your right." Joan agreed, feeling a bit better since Navi was right. Things like this were just something she couldn't change. Maybe when she went back to the Spirit Temple seven years in the future, she might find and save Nabooru. Joan reached for her ocarina to play the Prelude of Light. Completing this temple and helping whoever the Sage of Spirit was answer their call to join the sages was all Joan really could do now. She didn't exactly like that fact, but it was true.

The quick trip to the Temple of Time and then traveling seven years back into the future and teleporting back to the Spirit Temple felt like it happened in less then fifteen minutes for Joan as she walked towards the temple and adjusting her new gauntlets on her hands as she did so. Hey? If she had them and couldn't give them to Nabooru, then surely it can't hurt to at least borrow them for her quest, Right?

"Okay. Let's see if these things are worth the trouble we went through." Joan murmured before she pressed her hands against the stone block and began to press foreword. To Joan's delight, the gauntlets indeed made it easier for her to push heavier things. These gauntlets were definitely staying with her as long as possible. But when the block finally fell into a gap and allowed Joan to proceed into the eastern wing.

There were definitely enemies here to fight. Stalfos and keeses and strange creatures called anubises that were actually pretty easy since it only took a clever aim of an arrow through a torch to burn them. There were also one or two traps though they were not as morbid as those in the Shadow Temple.

The passageways eventually led to the chamber with the giant statue that Joan had been in seven years previous as a child except that she could now access another pathway. But Joan decided to rest here first before proceeding.

"So do you think we'll be fighting those witches that took Nabooru?" Joan asked Navi as she stretched her arms.

"I think so, and for chances are that they're the witches that raised Ganondorf."

"So we're going to have to beat up two old ladies? I feel like I should feel guilty about this."

"We... If we have to face them, we'll see how much of a situation it is and work with it." Navi told Joan.

"So basically, fight as hard as they try to kill me? I.E the usual?"

"Pretty much."

"Fair enough. C'mon, let's go!"

They continued on into the remaining, unexplored parts of the temple. The eastern wing wasn't that much different from the western half now that Joan thought about it. She even came to another empty throne room, that led onto the left hand of the statue above the entrance that also had another chest with gold engravings. Joan of course opened it up out of her curiousity. Nabooru didn't mention any other treasure here, so what could be inside?

Inside the chest was a hand mirror, with the mirror bigger then normal made of wood and a Gerudo symbol engraved in the centre of the glass.

"A mirror?" Joan furrowed her eyebrows as she looked it over and looked at her own reflection. Was this some sort of sacred relic? Joan wasn't sure what sort of use it would have. She wasn't exactly the kind of person who needed to look in a mirror are the time.

"I don't know what it's for, but we should keep it just in case. It might be useful later on." Navi pointed out.

"Guess it can't hurt to at least carry it." Joan said as she put the mirror in her satchel and turned back to return inside.

Joan took another route way which after solving another sunlight based puzzle found a new passageway which led to another throne room. Except unlike the other throne rooms Joan had passed, this one actually had people inside. The two witches that Joan had seen seven years ago and Joan wasted no time arming herself with her sword and shield. The witches had their backs to Joan and were holding broomsticks over their shoulders. But it seemed they had noticed her presence as one of them laughed and looked her shoulder to Joan, revealing a blue gem on her forehead.

"Ho ho ho! Looks like someone is here, Koume." The one called Koume looked back. She also had a gem but it was orange.

"Hee hee hee! Looks like it, Kotake!" Both the witches got on their broomsticks and rose above the ground. It allowed Joan to see a big suit of armour sitting on the throne and Joan had a fairly good idea what these witches were going to do.

"What an outrageous young woman she is, to intrude so boldly into our temple. Ho ho ho!"

"Your temple? I don't think a temple like this belongs to you." Joan said icily.

"Oh, look how brave she think she is!"

"Brave like my mum was? Brave like Aya? Ganondorf didn't like her, did he." Joan wasn't afraid to state this to them. Maybe saying it would rub salt into their wounds once she beat them in this temple.

"Ohhh, is this grown brat really Aya's daughter?" spoke Koume, like this was the funniest joke she heard in a while before Kotake spoke.

"Such a terrible woman she was! Ganondorf always knew she would betray the Gerudos just as we did!"

"Funny. I heard she left because he was trying to kill her. Even if she didn't meet my dad she probably would have left anyway because of your precious pig." Joan countered.

"So rude! Like mother, like daughter!"

"We should teach this outrageous lass a lesson! Hee hee hee! Oh, loyal minion~ Destroy this intruder on our behalf!" The witches vanished into nothing before Joan's eyes. The suit of armour then stood up and Joan tightened her grip on the Master Sword. The armour raised it's arms and shuck them but then stopped and looked at it's hands. Realizing it was missing it's weapon. Joan couldn't help but chuckle at the scene.

"You're not seriously laughing now of all times." Navi groaned

"Come on, it's kinda funny." Joan said with a small smile as she gestured to the living armour. The armour itself though clicked it's fingers and in it's hands appeared an oversized, double-sided axe.

"Okay, now we're serious."

The armour stomped it's way towards Joan while Joan took a step or two back, before she ran full speed ahead and jumped before bringing her sword down on the armour. It caused the suit to stumble back a step or two before it rose it's axe to swing down on Joan who jumped back quickly. She felt confident she could take the armour down. All she had to do was strike and move back quickly before it could hit back. Something Joan knew she didn't want to happen after she saw the axe destroy a column.

Thank Farore for Nayru's Love.

While the fight did feel long to Joan due to her strategy, it did pay off as soon the armour began to break off drop to the stone floor with loud clangs. But the suit of armour actually had someone inside of it. To Joan's shock it was Nabooru, the missing Gerudo she met as a child. Nabooru dropped to her knees and Joan immediately knelt down to her.

"Nabooru, are you okay?" Joan asked quickly while the Gerudo groaned.

"Unnnh... Where am I...?" Nabooru looked a little dazed but was slowly coming to her senses, and recognized who was in front of her. "Joan...?"

"Look, we're in the Spirit Temple, and those Gerudo witches that kidnapped you put you in a suit of armour and made you fight me." Joan summarized as best she could.

"I wha...?"

"Look, lets just get you out of here first and-"

"Well, well... Looks like she's back to normal, Koume." Both the woman looked up to see that both the witches had returned. If they were disappointed or annoyed, they weren't showing it. Instead they sounded amused.

"She's just a little girl, but she commands a lot of respect among the Gerudo, Kotake." spoke Koume, before giving a sinister laugh.

"Maybe we should make we work for the great Ganondorf for a little while longer! Ho ho ho!"

"Then we should brainwash her again! Hee hee hee!"

Both women reacted instantly as the witches charged up some of their magic. Joan grabbed Nabooru's wrist and began to run back towards the exit doors but seconds later Nabooru yelled as the spells hit her and she vanished.

"Nabooru!" Both the witches cackled before they vanished again. Joan clenched her fists as the doors behind the throne opened up. Joan let them get away last time, but this time Joan was not going to let that happen again!

This time, Joan ran straight ahead and kept going until she entered a chamber with high platforms halfway reaching the ceiling. Joan climbed up the platform until she made it to the top and looked around. The light was only coming from torches, and even they weren't enough to get rid of some of the darkness in the room. Eventually though, the witches cackles could be heard loud and clear but they did not make themselves seen.

"Look at that stupid kid! She came on his own to offer himself as a sacrifice to the great Ganondorf." one of them mocked before they began to appear from the other platforms.

"With my flame, I will burn her to the bone!" laughed Koume as she rose to the air on her broom. Her hair bursting into orange flames.

"With my frost, I will freeze her to her soul!" Kotake rose to the air with her hair becoming solid ice.

"Sorry to disappoint you, but neither of those things are happening." Joan growled as she tried to keep an eye on both of them. A task easier said then done as they flew around the room. Koume was the first to attack, as she shot a beam of fire towards Joan who jumped back from the attack and shortly after dodged the ice beam shot by Kotake.

"What am I suppose to do against them? They're in the freaking air and I don't think my arrows will be enough!" Joan asked Navi after dodging another fire beam.

"Wh-what about the mirror! You could use it to reflect the attack on them!"

"You're right!" Joan quickly dodged another attack before she took out the hand mirror. As soon as an ice beam came towards her, Joan held the mirror up and reflected the beam towards Koume. The witch's shriek suddenly made Joan glad she took the mirror with her. And she used it again and again to reflect the witches attacks towards one another. This however caused the frustration of the witches to grow and grow.

"OK, let's get serious now, Kotake!" Koume scowled as she flew up towards the ceiling along with her sister.

"Oh, OK, Koume."

"Kotake and Koume's Double Dynamite Attack!" the witches announced as they flew around in a circle, the torches dimming before they merged into a single entity of a tall Gerudo woman with fire of ice and fire. Joan felt her jaw drop since she knew she was in a bigger problem now then she was earlier.

"Hehehe! Intimidated now, girl!" The giant of a witch winked down at Joan before shooting a ball of fire down at her. Joan held up the mirror which absorbed the attack.

"Not at all!" Joan snapped before she dodged an ice attack. Joan kept the fight up and developed a new strategy. She would charged up the mirror with either a ice or fire attack and then use it to stun the witch which would give Joan a chance to use the Master Sword to attack the enemy. It was still a challenge though, there was denying that. But after a long fight, Joan eventually dealt the finishing blow on the witch and won

Amusingly enough, the witch separated back into Koume and Kotake and stood before Joan a small light shun down on them and halos appeared over their heads.

"Shoot, what a fresh kid! This time, we'll get serious, right Kotake?" The bitterness was clear in Koume's voice. Kotake however noticed the halo over Koume as they began to slowly rise up towards the light.

"What? Hey, Koume, what is that above your head?" Koume looked to Kotake and noticed the halo over her head as well.

"I don't know, but you have one over your head too, Kotake!" The witches looked puzzled as they looked up to the light and back to Joan.

"If by some chance you get a glance of mum, tell her I said hi." Joan told them as she gave them a smile and waved to them. Those words alone hammered the final nail as realization dawned on the witches and a frantic look appeared on both of them.

"But I'm only 400 years old!"

And I'm just 380 years old!"

"We're twins! Don't try to lie about your age!"

"You must have gone senile!"

"Who are you calling senile?! Is that how you treat your older sister?

"We are twins! How can you be older!"

"Keeeyaaah! How heartless you are!"

"How can you be so ungrateful?"

"You're heartless!"

"You ungrateful..." The witches continued to squabble until finally they were pulled up towards the light. Both witches screaming one last sentence to Joan.

"I'll come back to haunt you!"

"Seeing you was enough of a haunting!" Joan called up to them as they went to meet their makers. No doubt to receive trial before a final sentence to an afterlife. Whiteness slowly began to cloud Joan's vision and she closed them.

_Taking a deep breath, Joan opening her eyes as she found herself once more the Temple of the Sages. In front of Joan stood the Sage of Spirit. Who it was actually surprised Joan a bit, but she wasn't going to complain._

_"Kid, let me thank you." Nabooru chuckled as she looked at Joan. "Heheheh, look what the little kid has become in the past seven years. A competent swordswoman! And isn't it funny? That a person like me could turn out to be the Sage of Spirit! And now, I'm going to fight them as one of the six Sages!"_

_"Looks like you got your wish to mess up his plans." Joan said with a grin, and Nabooru laughed._

_"Heh heh, you're right there kid! I'm going to pay them back for what they did to me! Kid... No... Joan, the Hero of Time! Instead of keeping the promise I made back then, I give you this Medallion! Take it!"_

_An amber coloured medallion appeared in front of Joan, the engraving of the Spirit Temple marked on it. Joan happily took it and gripped it gently in her fingers._

_"I would have kept my promise though, if I wasn't a sage." Nabooru told her. "Aisha is already my second in command, but I would have given you a position in third."_

_"And what if I was a man?" Joan asked. Nabooru seemed to think this over a bit._

_"If you were a competent man, I would have possibly lied to you or give you that position in third. If you were as handsome as you are pretty, then chances are I might have offered a hand in marriage." Nabooru laughed this off as a joke and Joan gave a small chuckle. A bit unsure how to respond._

_"But before you go to end this once and for all, I have this to say. You're mother would have been proud of you." Nabooru said. "I may not have been as close to Aya as Aisha was, but Aya was still someone I'm proud to have called a friend. If your mother was here, I'm sure she would tell you how happy she is for how far you've come. And I'm sure the said can be said for your father."_

_"Thank you." Joan murmured. Nabooru smiled and nodded her head before everything faded to white. But Joan didn't leave this mysterious realm just yet._

_"Joan, the hero!" Joan turned around and saw Rauru standing before her. While he kept a neutral look, Joan saw what looked like a spark of joy betraying him in his eye. "Finally, all of us, the six Sages, have been awakened! The time for the final showdown with the King of Evil has come!"_

_"I... I'm not going to lie. I'm actually kinda scared about this. Facing Ganondorf face to face with the fate of the world hanging on me." Joan admitted._

_"It is good to admit to that fear, Joan. True bravery is not being fearless and lacking that emotion. To be brave means you face all monsters in your way no matter how terrifying. With all you have faced, you are perhaps one of the bravest people alive!"_

_"Well, I'm ready to go then." Joan confirmed as she nodded her head._

_"I'm happy to hear that, but you must rest once you leave the temple. After that_ _though, you should meet the one who is waiting for __you. The one who is waiting for you at the Temple of Time." Rauru instructed and Joan furrowed her eyebrow._

_"Who? Who's waiting for me?"_

_ "You will see once you have arrived there." Rauru assured Joan before he faded into the whiteness._

Joan found herself back in the temple after she blinked and thought over Rauru's words. After that, she looked to her right gauntlet and saw that all the circles were coloured in now with the new amber colour.

"Well... This is it Navi." Joan told he guardian fairy. "We'll go back to Epona and rest with her. We'll spend the day to first drop Epona off at the Lon Lon Ranch and then go to the Temple of Time to meet whoever's waiting for us there."

"Wait, why are we bringing Epona to the ranch?"

"I... If something happens, at least Epona will be safe." Joan told Navi before she jumped off the platform and began to make the long trip outside the temple.

"Come on. I'm tired and thirsty. I just want to have a long sleep before we finally end all of this."


	29. A Brief Reunion

_"Joan. Are you ready?"_

_Joan stood in front of Irina at Lake Hylia. Joan nodded her head as it all came to her. Shortly, she would be facing Ganondorf and only one of them would be coming out of this alive. It was almost surreal to Joan that after so much work, travel and battling, she was finally going to battle against the King of Evil._

_"I think I'm ready. No matter how scared I might become, I'll carry on!"_

_"Good to hear." Irina smiled. "After you defeat Ganondorf, there should be peace for a long time." Joan felt there was something else about this fight that Irina wasn't mentioning._

_"Is there anything else I should know?" Irina seemed to think something over before she looked to the waters of the great lake._

_"There is a story. A story that involves I, my first descendant Jericho, the beginning of the Royal Family, the Goddess that chose me as her hero and a demon. A demon that like Ganondorf wanted the Triforce."_

_"Sounds pretty interesting."_

_"Indeed it is. You know, when I first became a swordswoman, I think it would be fair to say that I was possibly what you would call, the very first badass." Irina laughed while Joan raised an eyebrow at her._

_"Really?"_

_"Of course! When I was alive, the idea of a woman even handling a shield was frowned upon!"_

_"How did you become the exception?" Irina never did talk much about her past, and Joan was actually a bit curious about it. After all, while Joan didn't exactly know how long ago Irina lived she did wonder how Irina became a hero._

_"I suppose it started when my mother died in childbirth." Irina began. Joan briefly wondered if being this hero cursed you to have at least one dead parent, but brushed it off since there were three others before her whom she had yet to meet. "Father was a blacksmith and he couldn't bare to marry another woman but he wanted a child to carry on his business. So he decided to take a chance and treat me as much as a boy as possible. I still had to wear dresses outside business but other then that I dressed as a man as far as I could remember. Some people didn't exactly like it. I recall one man saying I shouldn't be showing off my legs even though they were covered by pants!" Irina chuckled a little darkly as a memory came to him. "Somewhat ironically, I and a good few others knew that his 'precious' Lillian was a courtesan who was popular with a nearby lord."_

_"What's a courtesan?"_

_"... You don't need to know right now. Ask later. Anyway, I did a lot of work involving weapons including swords and I sort of practiced with them. I suppose all the practice helped me to grow in skill as the years went on."_

_"Then what?" Irina smiled down at Joan._

_"I'll continue the story another time. Right now, you need to finish your story here."_

Joan's eyes opened up. She was still at the Fairy's Fountain near the Spirit Temple. Epona was already awake and sipping from the fountain's water. Joan stretched her arms up before she stood up.

"You ready to go Joan?" Navi asked as the fairy hovered in front of the Hylian.

"Ready as I'll ever be." Joan murmured as she walked to Epona and got on the saddle. "Let's go Epona. We have a long trip ahead of us."

Moments later, Epona was galloping out of the cave and back into the desert. Joan could vaguely remember the way back to Gerudo's Fortress. Once they found the sand river to jump over, Joan felt that they would be fine. Sure enough, they did find the river of sand and jumped over it with ease and a short time later found themselves going through the Gerudo Fortress. Quickly going by a surprised looking Aisha, Joan called out quickly before she left.

"Sorry, gotta go! Nabooru's okay and is the Sage of Spirt! Kay? Bye!"

"Wha-what?!"

She had heard very clearly but was startled by the news. Joan however was already gone as were the chances of asking specific questions. Until of course Joan returned, which would be soon hopefully.

Joan only stopped once for a rest, but by late evening she had made it to the Lon Lon Ranch.

"Are you sure you want to leave Epona here?" Navi asked as Joan led the horse inside.

"I don't know how things will go exactly, so I should at least bring Epona where she'll be safe." Joan told her. She didn't see Malon or her dad outside. They must be inside the house. Joan was going to knock on the front door but stopped. With the end of the day looking so unclear to Joan, she was not too sure if she could say goodbye in person. Maybe not doing it would make her feel that she would live and come back here for Epona. Joan took out some paper and a pencil and wrote a quick note on it to explain what she could to Malon and her dad, before she put it on Epona's saddle.

"Sorry girl, but I have to go fight Ganondorf very soon, and I don't want you to get hurt. You'll be safer here. Trust me." Joan murmured as she rubbed her mare's nose. After giving Epona a hug around her neck, Joan began to walk away from the ranch. Taking out her ocarina while doing do and playing Prelude of Light and was transported directly to the Temple of Time.

"I have been waiting for you, Joan." Looking to the temple entrance, Joan saw Sheik standing there. Appearing calm and collected as ever.

"Joan, the Hero of Time. You have overcome many hardships and awakened six Sages. And now, you have a final challenge, a showdown with Ganondorf, the King of Evil. Before that. I have things I want to tell only to you. Please listen. Another unknown legend of the Triforce passed down by the shadow folk, the Sheikahs."

"Of course. I'm all ears." Joan told him, and Sheik began to tell his tale.

"If you would seek the sacred triangle, listen well. The resting place of the sacred triangle, the Sacred Realm, is a mirror that reflects what is in the heart. The heart of one who enters it. If an evil heart, the Realm will become full of evil. If pure, the Realm will become a paradise.

"The Triforce, the sacred triangle, it is a balance that weighs the three forces: Power, Wisdom and Courage. If the heart of the one who holds the sacred triangle has all three forces in balance, that one will gain the True Force to govern all. But, if that one's heart is not in balance, the Triforce will separate into three parts: Power, Wisdom and Courage.

"Only one part will remain for the one who touched the Triforce, the part representing the force that one most believes in. If that one seeks the True Force, that one must acquire the two lost parts. Those two parts will be held within others chosen by destiny, who will bear the Triforce mark on the backs of their hands."

"And Ganondorf entered the Sacred Realm after I opened the Temple of Time, so that means... When he tried to get the Triforce, it must have split apart! Right?" Joan's conclusion was based on the fact that as far as she could tell, Ganondorf was far away from anything involving courage or wisdom.

"Indeed you are correct." Sheik confirmed. "When he laid his hands on the Triforce, the legend came true.

"The Triforce separated into three parts. Only the Triforce of Power remained in Ganondorf's hand. The strength of the Triforce of Power enabled him to become a mighty, evil king, but his dark ambitions were not satisfied. To gain complete mastery of the world, Ganondorf started looking for those chosen by destiny to hold the two other Triforce parts."

"So now we have to look for those people?"

"Not necessarily. Because the one who holds the Triforce of Courage is you, Joan!"

"M-me?!" Joan was really taken back. Was Sheik actually serious or was he actually capable of playing a joke?! "Are... Are you sure? I don't..."

"With all of the trials you have faced Joan, it would be more shocking if you weren't the holder of the Triforce of Courage." Sheik told her calmly.

"Well... That leaves wisdom then." Joan said slowly. "Do you know who that is?"

"I do actually." Sheik seemed to stiffen his muscles for a second. "The holder of the Triforce of Wisdom, is the seventh Sage, who is destined to be the leader of them all."

Sheik lifted up his right hand and a Triforce symbol began to glow on the back of it, but the lower right triangle was glowing brighter then the others. A warm, golden glow surrounded Sheik and soon Joan had to shield and shut her eyes because of the light. But soon the light faded along with the warmth it gave. Joan dared to open her eyes and was shocked to see that Shiek was no longer standing in front of her. Instead it was a young woman around her age with long golden hair, dressed as a princess with a pale pink an purple dress and a gold circlet with a red gem on her head. Joan stared at the woman, having a strange familiar feeling from her. Joan squinted her eyes a bit but then the thought of one person came to mind.

"Are... Are you..."

"Yes, Joan. It is I, the Princess of Hyrule, Zelda." Zelda's gentle smile brought a brief grin to Joan's face.

"It's great to see you're fine Zelda. But if you don't mind me asking, why did you...?"

"I apologize for meeting you in disguise, but it was necessary to hide from the King of Evil. Please forgive me."

"You don't need to apologise." Joan told the princess as she walked foreword. "I can understand that you needed to hide. But..." Joan paused a bit. The was a question she needed an answer for. "I met Sheik seven years in the past when I was getting the Lens of Truth from the Kakariko well. How is it that Sheik exists then but here...?" Zelda frowned, and a look of regret was clear in her eyes.

"I suppose it is only proper for you to know the truth of Sheik. He was real. Sheik did exist and he was a young Sheikah apprenticed to Impa."

"Then that means... That the apprentice who died was..." Joan's mouth felt a bit dry. One might think it strange to feel a sense of mourning for someone who in reality you had only met once. But Joan didn't care. She had still met the real Sheik and had liked him.

"There was an accident while he and Impa first sealed the monster of the Shadow Temple three years ago. He was badly wounded and no kind of medical help would save him." Zelda paused to blink away some tears that had tried to sneak out of her eyes before she continued. "I was already training as a Sheikah under Impa, but before he died, Sheik said that I should take his name and appearance. That it might hide me from Ganondorf better. I was reluctant to do it because it felt like I would be stealing his life. But Sheik was insistent."

Joan let this information sink in. She couldn't blame Sheik or Zelda for the whole identity switch thing. If anything, Joan thought it was pretty genius in her mind.

"He wanted to meet you again." Zelda told Joan, much to Joan's surprise. "I told him about you, and he said he saw you at the well after it dried up. He felt that maybe the two of you would have been good friends."

"I would have liked to see him too." Joan murmured with a small sigh.

"Joan, I want to apologise to you." Joan was surprised by Zelda's words.

"Apologise? For what?"

"On that day, seven years ago, I saw you as I was escaping from the castle with my attendant, Impa. I thought I should entrust the Ocarina to you. I thought that would be our best chance. As long as you had the Ocarina in your possession, I thought Ganondorf could never enter the Sacred Realm, but something I could never expect happened.

"After you opened the door of time, the Master Sword sealed you away in the Sacred Realm. Your spirit remained in the Sacred Realm and then the Triforce fell into Ganondorf's hands. he went on to invade the Sacred Realm. Ganondorf had become the Evil King, and the Sacred Realm became a world of evil. All of this is an  
unfortunate coincidence."

"You shouldn't apologise. Neither of us knew that would happen." Joan pointed out. "And right now, we need to focus on how to end the Evil King."

"Of course. I wouldn't expect you to think of anything else." Zelda said with a small smile. "The six Sages will open the sealed door and lure Ganondorf back into the Sacred Realm. I will then seal the door to the Sacred Realm from this world. Thus, Ganondorf the Evil King will vanish from Hyrule.

"That's great! When do we start?"

"Joan, in order to do this, I need your courage again. Please protect me while I do my part."

"You don't need to tell me. I'm more then willing to do that for you, Zelda." Joan promised as she gave the Hylian princess a smile.

"Thank you, Joan." Zelda then held out arrows to Joan. Unlike Joan's simple wooded ones, these arrows were silver and seemed to have a shine of gold from them. "These arrows are only given to the chosen one. They are Arrows of Sacred Light, and will be able to penetrate the Evil King's defences."

"Good to hear." Joan said as she accepted them. "So where do we go from here?"

"Ganondorf's castle resides over where Hyrule Castle once was. Once we get inside, the sages will disable the defences surrounding the castle entrance and we will be able to proceed inside." The moment Zelda stopped speaking, the ground began to shake and rumble.

"What the..."

"That rumbling... It can't be?!" Zelda looked fearful. "Joan, we have to-"

But Zelda could not finish her sentence as she was then encased inside a glowing pink crustal. Joan acted out of instinct as she slammed her hands on the crystal. Looking over the crystal frantically for a way to break it as she doubted this was a crystal the Master Sword could make more then a mark.

"Zelda, you foolish traitor!" The voice of the King of Evil, Ganondorf, echoed out throughout the temple. Joan looked around trying to find him but realised he was not present but despite this was somehow still able to see them.

"I commend you for avoiding my pursuit for seven long years." He went on. "But you let your guard down. I knew you would appear if I let this kid wander around! My only mistake was to slightly underestimate the power of this kid." Zelda looked petrified as Joan was helpless to stop the crystal rising high above her.

"No... It was not the kid's power I misjudged, it was the power of the Triforce of Courage! But, with the Triforce of Wisdom that Zelda has... When I obtain these two Triforces, then, I will become the true ruler of the world!"

"That's never going to happen!" Joan yelled loudly. Hoping that it was going to hurt the evil man's ears. "Now give Zelda back, or else!" But Ganondorf only sneered back.

"If you want to rescue Zelda, come to my castle!" He cackled loudly as the crystal containing Zelda vanished. Joan snarled as she clenched and unclenched her fists in anger.

"Come on Joan! Let's rescue Zelda and finish Ganondorf!" Navi declared. Her normally calm, happy tone was replaced with an angry one.

"Lets." Joan muttered as she took her ocarina and ran outside the temple. In case any redead got in her way.


	30. The Fortress

The sky over the remains of Castle Town seemed darker then they were before. Joan had to replay the Sun's Song a few times since she kept rushing through and missed a note or two before she finally got the right tune and ran by the stunned redead and ran in the direction of where Hyrule Castle once stood. It seemed almost impossible but what little, withered plant life remained her seemed to become more dead as she went on until finally there were none.

Joan soon found the castle of the Evil King and her mouth dropped a little as she looked at the structure. It looked more like a fortress made of onyx, metal and spikes. There was a glowing vortex above the highest tower in the centre of the fortress while below it was a pit of lava. The only sounds were hollow winds a caws of crows.

"How fitting for Ganondorf." Joan mumbled as she walked to the edge of the ground across from the fortress gate.

"Yeah. But how are we going to get inside?" Navi questioned as she flew next to Joan. "I don't think the longshot will reach that far out."

"Joan, can you hear me? It's Rauru, the Sage." Joan was startled as she suddenly heard the Sage of Light's voice echo in her mind.

"Rauru?"

"We six will gather our power to create a bridge to the castle where Ganondorf dwells. The castle's keep, which is known as Ganon's Tower, is protected by six evil barriers. We will bring down the barriers so you can proceed to battle Ganondorf and and save Princess Zelda!"

Shortly after, orbs of different colours associated with each of the Six Sages began rain down over the gap between Joan and the castle entrance. The orbs didn't fall into the lava and instead built up and up and up, until with a flash of light a clear bridge which shun in the different colours and had spiked sides that looked more mystical compared to those of Ganondorf's castle.

Joan ran over the bridge and through a long corridor before she made it to the outside of Ganon's Tower. The entrance of the tunnel was shaped into an open demon's mouth, and the tower was covered by a force-field caused by beams of lights shooting from spikes on the walls of the fortress. But the force-field soon dropped. No doubt caused by the sages.

"Thanks." Joan murmured as she pulled out her sword and shield and took a deep breath before running through the tower entrance.

The inside of the tower was dark with grey and black stone and torches on the wall with blood red carpets on the staircase and hallways. Joan was on the bottom floor but she could hear something that sounded very far away. Probably the top floor. What was it? Music?

"Is that music?" Joan asked Navi as she listened out.

"I think so. I think that's an organ. It actually makes this place sound as evil as it is."

"Only Ganondorf could would try to make his lair sound as evil as himself." Joan shuck her head a little as they continued on.

To say that Joan was able to get to the top of the tower with ease and did not meet any difficulties whatsoever and was able to play the role of hero would be a complete a lie. On each floor, Joan found herself having to cross seemingly endless gaps, pass walls of fire, battle armoured stalfos and get past gibdos and redead. The were no windows as Joan went higher and the spiral staircases almost gave her a claustrophobic feeling. The air even felt cooler the outside and theh little heat from the torches gave no heat whatsoever.

Joan forced her body to move foreword despite the aches of pains and fatigue. But with much reluctance, Joan eventually slowed her speed to a walk. What good would she be if she was too tired to fight? Still, at least it gave Joan a chance to think about things.

The first of which was what Irina had told Joan about the possible outcome of the whole timeline thing. In a way there were two Joans right now. One was going to live and the other was going to die. That led to Joan think over those two paths. If she died, Ganondorf would continue to rule the land and Hyrule itself would possibly perish. There would be no end to this evil. However she would no longer have to fight and would be able to be carefree again. Maybe even meet her parents for the first time ever. If she lived, what exactly would happen? Obviously Ganondorf would be dead and peace would be restored, but where would that leave Joan? She wasn't sure what she would have liked. She supposed acknowledgement would be enough really. As fun as it was to do adventuring, she was more use to a quiet lifestyle like back at Kokiri Forest. But Joan knew that people were likely going to celebrate her victory if it happened, so maybe she wouldn't exactly get that quiet life.

Then there were the Six Sages. Rauru, Saria, Darunia, Ruto, Impa and Nabooru. They would have their duties to do and no longer be around. Joan would have to make sure that they got recognition for their part in ending Ganondorf. Joan knew that out of all of them, she would miss Saria the most. True with the others she had made friends and allies, become Sworn Kin and met connections to her long gone family, but Saria was the first friend she ever had. She had been her best friend, and always stood up to Mido when he used to bully Joan. Then there was the fact she had thought Joan to read and write and had helped Joan whenever she needed it. But, maybe Joan would see Saria and the rest of the sages again? Surely their duties couldn't eternally bind them to the Chamber of the Sages or the temples.

What would happen if Joan did defeat Ganondorf and lived till old age? Irina had said that her predecessors up to Joan all had their own quests. What could follow Ganondorf? What was the evil before Joan's time and would evil ever truly leave or was it a terrible necessity for the world to continue on?

"Joan? Are you okay?" Joan was surprised to hear Navi's concerned voice.

"What?"

"You were kinda spacing out there for a while. I was getting worried."

"Don't worry about me, Navi. Let's just try to focus on our main task. 'Sides, I was just thinking over some stuff. Nothing to worry about."

Eventually, the heroine neared the end of the tower. She came to a chamber with a tall platform which rose high and seemed to act more like a square column to the top floor. Joan knew it was the top floor up above as she could hear the music louder and clearer then before. Joan felt her breathing briefly become heavy as she knew she was close to the end.

Joan walked up the final spiral staircase. This one was different as it had stained glass windows which let the light cause text to glow on the wall. At the top of the red carpeted steps, was the final door. Joan looked down to her Master Sword. The sword that would hopefully bring joy this day. Taking a clearing breath, Joan had a look that seemed to be the perfection example of determination before she kicked the door open and moved swiftly inside.

The inside of the final chamber was a lot brighter then the other chambers. The stained glass covering the walls and ceiling gave the room an amber glow and almost mad the black covered floors unnoticeable. There was more scarlet carpet the led up towards steps where at the top stood Ganondorf with his back to Joan as he continued to play the large organ in front of him. The Princess of Hyrule was also here. Still imprisoned in her crystal and high above the organ. Her frightened face seemed to lesson once she noticed Joan but she kept silent since she was afraid to alert Ganondorf of Joan's arrival.

Joan then noticed a faint, golden glow coming from her left hand and looked to it. She saw the Triforce symbol glowing on the back of it, but the lower left triangle glowing. Was this the mark of the Triforce of Courage?

The music came to a sudden stop and Joan looked sharply up to Ganondorf, who had yet to face Joan.

"The Triforce parts are resonating," Ganondorf spoke. "They are combining into one again. The two Triforce parts that I could not capture on that day seven years ago. I didn't expect they would be hidden within you two!" Ganondorf gave a low, dark chuckle as he stood a little straighter. "And now, finally, all the Triforce parts have gathered here!"

"True, but you still won't get the Triforce!" Joan said as she took out her sword and prepared to take her shield out.

"Tch. Arrogant. Just like your mother." Joan tensed at those words as her mouth slowly opened. Ganondorf somehow knew despite not looking at Joan and chuckled. "Surprised? You shouldn't be. My mothers were able to tell me of you before you murdered them! I always knew Aya was destined to be a traitor." He turned around with his cloak billowing behind him and gestured to Joan. "And here before me stands the proof."

"If fleeing for her life if being a traitor, then it's only because of yourself and convincing yourself of that because she wasn't Gerudo in blood! It was a self-fulfilling prophecy!" Joan snapped. "And you know what, maybe if you weren't as pig-headed as you look, she wouldn't have decided to leave and marry dad and had me! Chances are that you've brought your doom on yourself!" Now Ganondorf was laughing louder then before.

"You're brave kid! Stupid, but brave! But what's to be expected from the holder of the Triforce of Courage? But know this, girl. The pieces of the Triforce are too much for you and the princess! I command you to return them to me!" Saying this, Ganondorf raised his right fist where the Triforce symbol glowed. The top triangle glowing brightly as a dark stream of energy and shot it towards Joan. Said girl shielded herself though it really didn't do much but make Joan feel a force pressing against her. Navi on the other hand got hit directly and fell to the ground.

"Navi!" Joan quickly knelt down and after putting the sword by her side, she delicately moved Navi into her hands. Navi's wings were still fluttering but they seemed slowly now.

"I... I'm fine, I just..." Navi sounded a bit sluggish. Joan looked to Ganondorf to glare as the organ vanished and he began to hover in the air.

"Mind resting in my pocket?"

"I'll... I'll be okay..." Navi mumbled and Joan put Navi quickly but carefully in her pocket. Doing her best not to damage the fairy's wings. Joan took the Master Sword back into her hand and looked to Ganondorf who simply smirked down at Joan before he built up an energy ball in one hand and slammed it down. Except for the centre of the floor and the outer floor, the rest broke away to tumble down below with a loud crash. Joan had been unfortunate enough to have been on ground that would break away but was close enough to the remaining ground to grab onto the edge with her hands.

"Haha, you're not going to just die now, are you?"

Joan growled in response and swung her leg to catch onto the edge with her foot and pulled herself up and turned to face Ganondorf who was hover over the centre floor. Charging up another sphere of energy, Ganondorf shot it towards Joan. But Joan used her sword as a tennis racket and hit the energy away from her and back towards Ganondorf. He hit it back of course and it continued on until Ganondorf missed and ended up getting briefly stunned by his own attack. But it was enough time for Joan to pull out one of the Arrows of Sacred Light and after aiming with her bow shot into Ganondorf's chest.

He gave a sharp gasp of pain when the arrow struck, but it turned into an angered cry when light shot out of the arrow and struck him square in the chest. He dropped to the floor he was floating over and deciding to use this chance, Joan jumped onto the platform and managed to slash Ganondorf's arm, drawing forth green blood before he shoved her away from him, and rose again to hover.

The tennis-like battle with the energy ball started once more. Joan was growing more and more confident that she would in fact be victorious. But Ganondorf tricked her by making her swing too soon and was hit square in the chest, making her give a sharp cry since it hurt a lot and made her stumble back, nearly hitting the wall. She had only shut her eyes for a moment when Ganondorf was suddenly in front of her and had a another ball of energy and moved his fist back. Joan instantly ducked just a few seconds after Ganondorf's fist met the wall that had been behind Joan's head.

"You know? I knew that when I began this seven years ago, I would have to face at least one person who thought they could stand up to me." Ganondorf flexed his fingers that hit the stone wall as he held a look that seemed a mixture of a scowl and grimace. "I never did think it would be a girl, but it doesn't matter. Either way, you will still be the final example of what happens to those in my way!"

Joan glared and swung her sword at him only for him to block the attack by using his armoured arm to hit against the flat side of the sword. He then raised his other first, holding yet another sphere of energy and punched down towards Joan who sidestepped the man before jumping back several steps while taking out her bow and another Sacred Arrow and aimed again for Ganondorf's chest.

It seemed Joan's good aim had yet to leave her, for once again Ganondorf cried out in pain before dropping to the ground. Not wasting the chance, Joan swung her sword down on him and damaged his leg before he grabbed her shoulder and Joan yelled out as she felt another shock go through her body. It was more painful now that he had direct contact on her and didn't look to be planning on letting go soon.

Gritting her teeth, Joan tried to ignore the pain and began twisting her sword in Ganondorf's leg. Hoping she would cause him enough pain to force him to release him. But it worked as soon Ganondorf let go of her shoulder and shoved her away with a roar of pain. Joan fell to the floor, close to the edge. But she pushed herself back up quickly and steadied herself. Both of them were beginning to sweat, and while Ganondorf was bleeding from his arm and leg, Joan felt pretty bruised and could still feel the pain of electricity shooting through her body.

But both were still standing and ready to end the other. Ganondorf created another sphere of energy, but Joan wasn't going to let herself get caught out again. This time she was able to hit back against the energy ball and continued to do so until she hit his face. He cried out loud in pain and Joan took another Sacred Arrow and aimed again for his chest. Once she did and he collapsed to regain his strength, Joan swung her sword quickly. This time she aimed for his neck, and she hit what may have been his jugular or something close to it. At least that was what Joan guessed she did as soon more blood then before was coming from the side of his neck.

Even with his arrogance, Ganondorf realised that his wound was much more serious then the others as he clutched at it desparately. He tried to stand but did not have the strength to stand higher then he could manage. Joan was panting and kept her sword in hand. Hopefully this was the end. No, it had to be the end. The light of the Sacred Arrows and of course the Master Sword was designed to destroy evil. And evil is what Ganondorf was the personification of.

"The Great Evil King Ganondorf... Beaten by this kid?!" Ganondorf muttered hoarsely in disbelief before he coughed up some of his blood.

"Good to see you can acknowledge you're evil." Joan muttered as she looked on at Ganondorf. The Gerudo stared a Joan before he started to growl.

"Joan...!" His breathing hot heavier until he forced himself to stand up fully. He roared loudly to he heavens as his body began to glow. The ground shuck as the stained glass around the room began to shatter. Joan stepped back as far as she could until the light coming from him completely blinded Joan with enough force to make her shield her eyes.

When the ground stopped shaking, Joan dared to open her eyes. The chamber was no more. Now just a flat roof for the tower. Ganondorf still stood, his cape in tatters. But finally he collapsed to the ground. Hopefully with no more surprises. It was strange though. That battle, after everything Joan's been through, just seemed almost-

"Joan, that was epic! Are you okay?" Joan looked to her side to see her fairy companion. She was flying now, and seemed alright again.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Joan assured Navi with a smile. She still felt some pain, but knowing it was over was worth it. But yet, it almost seemed too...

Joan stopped thinking when she noticed that the crystal Princess Zelda was in was lowering to the ground, and landed in front of Joan before it vanished. Leaving the princess free. She looked back to the collapsed Ganondorf.

"Ganondorf. Pitiful man. Without a strong, righteous mind, he could not control the power of the gods and..." The tower suddenly began to shake and tremble, and the sounds of collapsing rubble could be heard clearly.

"Joan, listen to me! This tower will collapse soon! With his last breath, Ganondorf is trying to crush us in the ruins of the tower! We need to hurry and escape!"

"Then let's go! I think this way is safe!" Joan grabbed hold of Zelda's hand and they both began to race against time as they began to run down the stairs of the tower. All the walls except for the chambers being either destroyed or completely gone. In the chambers themselves, fires had started out with burning stones falling down nearly hitting either Joan or Zelda. In some chambers, the smoke was thicker then most and nearly caused the two women to get lost and cough before finding their way out.

"I think we're almost there!" Joan told the princess as they ran through another chamber. "We got to keep going!"

As they went on, the tremors in the tower became more violent. Joan's back would have been hit directly by one of the falling boulders if she hadn't been wearing the shield on her back. The fire itself had nearly split Joan and Zelda apart, but they were able to get around it. Eventually they made it outside the tower and ran through the long hallway leading outside the castle walls as everything seemed to collapse at a faster pace behind them.

But they made it and survived. As they stood at a safe distance, the domineering fortress collapsed to the ground, and the tower tumbled soon after it. Leaving only dark remains as a memory of what was once there.

"It's over... It's finally over..." Zelda breathed, sounding relieved before she and Joan smiled to one another and Navi flew over them.

"Joan... I'm sorry I couldn't help you in the battle before!"

"Don't worry about it." Joan waved it off. "Right now, we should probably..." Joan trailed off as a rumbling was heard, coming from the remains.

"What is that sound?" Zelda asked, her smile now gone as looked deeply concerned.

"You wait here. I'll go check." Joan murmured before drawing her sword and walked towards the ruins. She tried to keep an eye on everything. Tried to expect the unexpected. But what Joan didn't expect was the ring fire that appeared along the perimeter of the ruins. Separating her from the princess. From the dark rubbles, Ganondorf rose above Joan. His eyes no longer had pupils or irises and were just a sickly yellow colour.

"I will not let it end like this! I refuse to be defeated by you!" he roared while Joan looked dumbstruck. How was he still alive after all that?! But that question didn't matter right now. Ganondorf used the Triforce of Power to transform himself. Joan could barely watch it since the transformation looked disgusting, but at the end of the transformation, Ganondorf had become some sort of large, humanoid pig with armour wielding a pair of golden swords. He swung his blades and with his increased strength he knocked the Master Sword from Joan's hands outside the ring of fire near Princess Zelda, causing some colour to drain from Joan's face.

"What is he?!" Joan's voice was shaking as she slowly back away from the demonic pig. Holding her shield close to her.

"He's no more a man. Just a demon called Ganon." Zelda answered, but Joan could barely hear her over the thunder that was beginning to sound out loudly with clashes.

"Joan! You can still fight him! Maybe when he's weak enough the fire will die down! At least long enough for you to get the sword back!" Navi's words gave Joan little comfort. But Joan was going to do all she could to end this. No matter what.

Swords were swung towards Joan who jumped back before pulling out her bow and a Sacred Arrow. Maybe it would stun him long enough for Joan to properly think of an attack. But this battle was more difficult then the previous one. Ganon kept stomping towards her, swinging his twin swords wildly giving Joan little opportunity to strike.

But Joan decided to take the slim chance she had and fired her arrow. It struck the top of his head and while it didn't penetrate deep enough, the light did cause enough pain to distract him while Joan moved around to try and find a weaker point to attack. Noticing his tail wasn't protected by anything, Joan decided to take a chance and loaded a regular arrow on her bow and fired. Striking the tail, Ganon yelled out and turned around sharply, his tail hitting Joan and throwing her into what remained of a wall.

Looking back up, Joan then dodged as one of the blades sliced down and sidestepped as another came towards her though it did cut through the shoulder of her tunic and managed to draw some of her blood. Not too bothered by the slight stinging sensation, Joan took out another Sacred Arrow and aimed again for head. Once he shot, Joan moved quickly around to hit his tail again.

This routine continued on for what felt like ages. Without the Master Sword, Joan had to rely on her arrows and as her supply began to deplete she became worried about what she would do after her supply went out. She especially had to take care of the Sacred Arrows of Light.

Eventually though the demon collapsed to his knees, panting from exhaustion. There was some blood dribbling down from the wounds left by the arrows while there were more bloody wounds on his tail. Joan wasn't in much better shape. She had some bloody wounds of her own, the worst being a slash across her left side. Her hair ribbon had fallen out and her small braid became loose causing some of her hair to get in her face. But the damage done to Ganon was enough for the circle of fire to lesson in strength though not vanish completely.

"Joan! The Master Sword is here! Hurry up!" Joan looked to Zelda who was already lifting up the legendary sword, and wasted no time to run as fast as her sore legs could go. Reaching Zelda, neither girl said anything and Joan just accepted the sword and turned to face Ganon again. Moving over the flames, it began to raise up as he stood up again and lightly burned Joan's left leg.

Battle resumed again. But it felt easier compared to the beginning now that Joan had her sword at hand. Joan continued to use the Sacred Arrows to hit his head and then move around him to strike his tail with the Master Sword. The sword had a stronger effect and almost caused Ganon to scream in pain each time Joan was able to get a strike. Joan received a few more wounds as well, but being smaller then Ganon still gave her an advantage of being able to duck under him to strike.

When he became weakened again, Ganon collapsed. He glared furiously at Joan before crying out as a beam of light suddenly hit him. Surprised, Joan looked to the source and saw Zelda casting the beam.

"I'm using my power to hold the Evil King!" Zelda explained quickly. "Use your sword and deliver the final blow!" Zelda then stopped the beam and the Master Sword began to glow though for only a moment.

This was it.

Her hand grasped the sword so tightly that her knuckles were bone white. She gritted her teeth tightly and slashed first his face and then slashed at his throat before digging the blade deeply into his forehead. Ganon first gurgled as blood began to seep out of his mouth. Joan gave the sword as much of a twist as she could before she pulled it out. Ganon screamed out in total agony as he waved his swords wildly. Zelda looked up to the sky while a tired Joan stumbled backwards and dropped to her knees.

"Six Sages. Now!"

Zelda raised her hands to the air and created a sphere of light before releasing it to the air before falling. Joan crawled to her side and they both waited for the sages help. And help they did. Along with the sphere sent by Zelda, six more spheres of light from each of the sages appeared from the sky. They flew down towards Ganon and circled around him at great speed until he was enveloped in a bright white light. After the light vanished, Ganondorf stood in his original form, but now the white portal was below his feet. The sages spheres came back from the circle and went around Ganondorf, but this time they left a stream of their light around him like a chain before going down into the portal and began dragging Ganondorf into it. Ganondorf looked beyond any emotion of anger. Before he could be dragged into the Sacred Realm (or more fittingly now because of Ganondorf, the Evil Realm.), he screamed out to Joan and Zelda.

"YOU! CURSE YOU, ZELDA! CURSE YOU, SAGES! CURSE YOU, JOAN! Someday, when this seal is broken... That is when I will exterminate your descendants! As long as the Triforce of Power is in my hand..."

But Ganondorf could not finish his sentence. With the powers of the Six Sages greater then the greatly weakened Ganondorf, the Evil King was pulled into the void, screaming as he used on free hand to claw at the ground in the soil. But eventually he was finally pulled in and the portal sealed.

Joan stared at the spot where Ganondorf once was but then weakly chuckled.

"If I have any, I think it'll just be the same outcome." Joan mumbled before she collapsed onto her back and passed out.


	31. Miserable Goodbyes

_Joan wasn't sure where she was now, but she was sleeping soundly. Nothing to wake her or disturb her from her rest._

_"Hey, Joan."_

_No disturbance at all. Surely after a long battle with Ganondorf, Navi would understand and let her sleep the rest of the day away._

_"Hey. Wake up."_

_What would Joan do once she woke up? Talk to Zelda she supposed. Maybe the sages too if that was possible._

_"Okay, you asked for it!"_

_Joan shot her eyes open and grunted as she felt a small kick to her side. Looking up, she glared at her spiritual ancestor Irina._

_"What was that for?!"_

_"You wouldn't wake." Irina shrugged her shoulders before she helped Joan stand up on the grass by Lake Hylia. She had a proud looking smile before patting Joan on her back. "But let's get to the reason you're here and let me say that you did a pretty good job with Ganondorf, Joan."_

_"Thanks. So if you're just here to say that, I'm guessing I'm definitely still alive." Joan lightly joked. Irina smiled and nodded._

_"Pretty much. Zelda's actually going to talk with you as soon as you wake, but we have time here."_

_"That's good I guess."_

_"Now, I did mention that there was a story involving my first descendant." Irina said as she began to walk and Joan quickly followed after her. She really wished she didn't appear as a child whenever she talked to Irina. The woman took bigger strides then Joan's smaller legs._

_"And what can you tell me?" Irina looked down to Joan._

_"While the sages have sealed Ganondorf away, this will not be the last time the world will see him."_

_"What?!" Joan stopped dead in her tracks. "Are you telling me that I went through all that for nothing!"_

_"No, not at all. It's just that... Well, I won't tell you the entire story. It would be more fitting for Jericho to tell it, and there might be a surprise or two that should wait until it's your time to move on. But I can say this. Jericho near the end of her quest battled a demon by the name of Demise. Like I mentioned earlier, he too wanted the Triforce. But of course naturally, he was stopped and defeated."_

_"Okay, but what's the point of this story." Joan asked impatiently._

_"Before his defeat, he made a prophecy. A prophecy which I believe has begun the day Ganondorf was born." Joan looked interested, but there were touches of concern and worry about what it could be._

_"How did it go?"_

_Irina looked to the waters of the lake and knelt down by it, followed by Joan. Irina dabbed the water with one finger causing a small ripple. But up to where the ripples ended and image began to appear to Joan's amazement. It was a little blurry but Joan could make out two figure in some kind of dark place with light fog. The smaller figure unmistakenly had to have been Jericho. She did bare a resemblance to Irina and Joan and in her late teens. There were small differences such as her hair being a more sandy blonde colour and her green tunic having darker edges. The other figure though just looked plain terrifying to Joan. He seemed to have blue-ish skun but his arms and some of his back seemed to be covered in rock while his hair was nothing but fire. He also had a glowing x on his forehead and hauntingly glowing eyes. The anger on his face and his voice as he spoke made Ganondorf look as if he never tried to look intimidating._

_"__Extraordinary. You stand as a paragon of your kind, human. You fight like no man or demon I have ever known. Though this is not the end. My hate... never perishes. It is born anew in a cycle with no end! I will rise again. Those like you... Those who share the blood of the goddess and the spirit of the hero... They are eternally bound to this curse. An incarnation of my hatred shall ever follow your kind, dooming them to wander a blood-soaked sea of darkness for all time!"_

___As the demon began to fade into embers, so too did the image in the water fade away. Joan looked up to Irina._

___"So you think that Ganondorf..."_

___"Is that very incarnation? I do." Irina stood back up along with Joan. "But you don't have to worry. As I said, timelines here are splitting. Except now there's a third route." Joan looked up at Irina in confusion."_

___"Third? How?"_

___"You'll understand once you speak with Zelda." Irina chuckled as she winked at Joan. "But as I said, he is sealed in this time and won't be free for sometime. You'll already be dead by then at least. In another... Well, lets just say the King is a lot more weary and that the Gerudos aren't going to keep him as leader. I convinced a friend to pull some strings." Joan just felt more confused as Irina gave a mysterious smile._

___"I don't understand you."_

___"You will when it happens. Just visit Zelda in the same courtyard."_

___"You're making no sense! Stop doing that!"_

___"Make me." Irina stuck her tongue out. Joan could only sigh. As stubborn as she could be, she had to admit a small defeat here. Maybe knowing this woman was technically her in a sense made her realise that nothing would make her talk._

___"So this is really the end. Will I ever see you again?"_

___"Of course you will silly. If not like this, then when it's your time. Until then my friend, this is goodbye."_

___"Well, alright I..." But Joan stopped when something suddenly came to mind. "Hey wait a second! Demise! He mentioned, 'blood of the goddess'. What does that have to do with Ganondorf, or anyone like us?"_

___"Who else did Ganondorf curse besides you and the sages?"_

___"Zelda, but... Wait... You said around this time would have been the beginning of the Hyrule Royal Family so... Does that mean the one who started it was...?"_

___"It's not a question for you to fret about." Irina said calmly. "Just wake up and talk to Zelda."_

___"But I-"_

Joan's eyes shot open and she sharply looked around her. Wherever she was, it looked as if she was in the sky. Joan couldn't help but curse Irina. Now there was always going to be that one question bugging her mind and she doubted it was something she could just ask Zelda. What was the point of letting Joan hear the mention of goddess blood if it wasn't going to be answered? Irina probably wanted to mess with Joan.

Joan was so caught up in her thoughts that she didn't notice that she looked good as new now with no wounds and her hair was tied back once more with her small hair braid.

"Joan, are you okay?" Joan looked up to see Navi flying close to her.

"Y-yeah. I'm fine. Just talking with Irina is all. How long have I been here?"

"Not too long. The Princess said she would be back after meeting with the other sages."

"Ah, I see." Joan murmured. It wasn't too long before the Princess herself appeared before Joan. Smiling happily in joy of today's end.

"Thank you, Joan." Zelda began. "Thanks to you, Ganondorf has been sealed inside the Evil Realm! Thus, peace will once again reign in this world, for a time."

"I'm just glad to have helped." Joan said honestly. She strangely felt glad that Zelda acknowledged that peace would not be eternal here. Maybe because it made her feel better about knowing Ganondorf would be back. "I mean, someone had to do it. And I learned recently, that this was something only I could do." Joan frowned as a saddened, guilty look came to Zelda's face.

"All the tragedy that has befallen Hyrule was my doing. I was so young... I could not comprehend the consequences of trying to control the Sacred Realm. I dragged you into it, too." Joan immediately grabbed Zelda's hands causing the Princess to look directly at her.

"Zelda, you can't blame yourself." Joan looked completely serious and showed no trace of doubt. "If anything, I'm just as much at blame as you are because I was the one who opened the path to the Sacred Realm for Ganondorf. Besides, we were kids. How were we to know the consequences? I'm sure we would have made the same mistake if this began when we were older. Besides I... If I hadn't gotten 'dragged into it', I possibly never would have known anything about my mother other then her name, or have known my father's name, or have even met anyone who knew at least one of my parents! As horrible as all this was, there was some droplets of happiness here and there, and I was able to heal some of the damage in the land."

"You've really matured as an adult, Joan." Zelda told her with a tiny, slightly sad looking smile. "There are few people like you Joan. But as kind as your words are, it is still time for me to make up for my mistakes, starting with you."

"With me?"

"You must lay the Master Sword to rest and close the Door of Time However, by doing this, the road between times will be closed."

"So that means... We'll never see one another again? That no one will remember any of this?" Joan felt her heart sinking and just plain falling out of her as her lower lip quivered a bit.

"There is a good chance no one will remember." Zelda admitted. Feeling crestfallen, Joan swallowed before saying,

"Well... If that's what you want to do, go for it. I mean, I would kinda like to be a mischievous kid again." Joan weakly chuckled though the sadness was still on her face. Zelda looked equally sad as she held her hand out.

"Joan, give the ocarina to me. As a Sage, I can return you to your original time with it." Joan moved her hands slowly to her satchel and held up the shinning blue Ocarina of Time. While it did belong to the Royal Family and had only been in Joan's possession for a short time, apart of her had grown attached to it. But she handed it Zelda, who held Joan's hand.

"Peace has returned to Hyrule. It is be time for us to say goodbye." Zelda slowly took the ocarina away from Joan and held it to her chest. "Now, go home, Joan! Regain your lost time! Home... Where you are supposed to be. The way you are supposed to be."

"Good... Goodbye then." Joan murmured weakly.

Zelda held the ocarina to her lips and began to play her lullaby. A tune that had normally sounded fairly happy and peaceful to Joan now sounded melancholy as Zelda played it. Somehow it was fitting in Joan's mind. As the song went on, a faint blue light began to surround Joan. Joan didn't bother to dab away the tears that were starting to leak from her eyes. Soon the light began to lift Joan up and the song of Zelda's Lullaby grew fainter and fainter. Before things went completely white, Joan heard Zelda's last words in her mind.

_"Thank you., Joan.. Goodbye."_

The whiteness fading (Hopefully for the last time.), Joan then found herself back in the Temple of Time as her ten year old self. Free of all wounds she had received during her adventure. Her hands were clutched onto the Master Sword which was now in it's pedestal and begrudgingly, Joan released her hold. Everything here felt peaceful. She could see the bright sun shinning in from the lone window of the chamber.

"Well, I'm not gonna lie to you Navi. That wasn't really easy. Then again, saying goodbye is never easy, is it?" Joan weakly laughed as she rubbed her eyes.

"Y-yeah..." Joan noticed that Navi's voice sounded weaker. Her concern grew once she faintly heard Navi cough and noticed her wings become a little droopy.

"N-Navi? Are you okay?"

"I..." Navi was possibly going to say yes but after another cough she sighed. "No. I'm not."

Navi's wings weren't fluttering as fast as they usually were, and her glow began to wither a bit. Growing scared, Joan held her hands underneath Navi and had her rest in them.

"N-Navi, what's wrong?"

"I'm sorry, Joan." Navi whimpered. "But I... I think, that darkness that Ganondorf shot at us, I think it did more damage to me then we expected."

"What are you talking about?" Joan asked, her fear rising.

"I'm a fairy. We're creatures who are normally sided on light and purity. The type of darkness Ganondorf used, well..." Navi coughed some more. "It's like... poison for us."

"You're not... You can't be..." Joan felt tears welling up again. This couldn't be happening. A goodbye with someone Joan could call a friend was one thing, but a goodbye like this was completely different!

"I'm sorry Joan. I guess I should have moved quicker."

"Don't say that! It's my fault! If I... I could have... I should have looked out for you better!" Joan was really struggling to keep her tears for falling out now.

"Not your fault. None of it is. You saved the day."

"But I didn't want my friends to die!"

"I'm glad you call me a friend, Joan." Joan could almost hear the smile in Navi's voice. "I like to call you a friend too. My best friend really. After all we've been through, I wish we could have more time together, and just have fun. Looks like we won't get that. Could you do me one favour though? I don't really know what happens to a fairy when they die so if by some chance my body remains, I'd like to be buried back at Kokiri Forest."

"Don't say that! We can make you better. Just hold on, I'll run all the way up Death Mountain to get to the Fairy's Fountain!"

"It won't work for me in this case Joan." Joan was beginning to feel light headed and collapsed to her feet.

"Navi... Please don't go..." Joan whimpered.

"I'm sorry Joan, but I can't. But I'm glad that out of everyone I could have been partners with, that it was you. You may be lazy sometimes when it comes to sleep, but you're still a good friend."

"Navi..."

"I'm sorry but... Goodbye, Joan."

"No, no goodbye!" Joan cried, but it was in vain. Navi's wings finally slowed to a stop as she gently laid back in Joan's hands, and her blue glow faded away letting Joan see her true appearance for the first time. She looked like a tiny girl about the size of Joan's thumb. Like that the girl in the story Thumbelina Saria told her once. Her hair was a cobalt blue and she wore a simple pale blue sleeveless, knee length dress and was barefooted. Joan could say that Navi looked very pretty, maybe even beautiful as she looked asleep in Joan's hands.

But Joan sniffled as more tears came down. She couldn't bring herself to allow herself to just sob and just looked at Navi in a pointless hope that Navi's glow would return and that she would be flying by Joan's side once more. But of course she didn't. It felt like a tortured filled eternity before it happened. There was a tiny glow from Navi, but not the same kind Joan was used to. Instead there seemed to be a thin layer of a clear gold over her. Then, from Navi's feet going up, he body began to disperse into golden sparkles that went up high and left through the window.

Eventually, Navi's body was completely gone and the gold sparkled like topazes before vanishing. Never to be seen by Joan again.

Joan stared out the window before she finally broke down and began to sob. She had lost a friend who had been with her every step of the way. Sure she had friends who had been there for her one time or another. Zelda did help, and Malon was a friend to talk to after Saria became a sage. But Navi was with her through all the fights. Maybe she wasn't able to fight herself, but just knowing someone was there had comforted Joan in even the darkest moments. Especially with Ganondorf. To loose such a valuable friend... It just felt liked Joan had multiple hearts in her body and that her shadow just appeared and ripped them all out one at a time before shoving them back in and ripping them back out again and continuing the horrid cycle all over again!

Joan never would recall how long she had stayed there to cry. At the end she was just hiccupping as her eyes could no longer shed anymore tears. Joan wasn't sure what to do now. What could she do? Joan sniffed and looked in her satchel. Nearly everything she had acquired during her journey was gone. The only things Joan had left were her remaining rupees, the Gerudo token and her mother's necklace. Those last two things brought a mild comfort to Joan. Assuming that no one would know of what had happened, Joan figured she would have to re-meet Aisha and Nabooru and figured the token would help to get into the Gerudo Fortress. Albeit she would have a heck of a time trying to explain how she got it. Maybe she could lie and say it belonged to her mother? And the necklace? Joan would hold it close to her heart. It was her treasure that she would never let go.

Joan stood up and looked to the window. Irina had told her to meet Zelda. Was it to warn her about what would happen? That seemed likely. It was the only explanation that Joan could think of.

"Goodbye... Navi..." Joan murmured before she turned around to leave the temple. Possibly never to return.

* * *

**One more chapter to go. I hope I didn't do too badly with the death scene. When it came to the parting of Joan and Navi, I thought over what I should do. Either stick to what happens in the game, have Navi die in Joan's hands and try to make it as depressing as possible or have Navi stay with Joan. The middle one won out as you can see but I still hope you liked this chapter.**


	32. The End

There were a lot of people out when Joan arrived in Castle Town. Even a few Gorons, Zoras and some Gerudos were present and seemed extremely happy. Why exactly Joan didn't care. She doubted her mood would be bright and happy for a long time. Joan kept to the shadows since she didn't want to talk until she saw Princess Zelda again. But Joan could still hear some conversations.

"... It's so wonderful! ..."

"... I'll have to let her have some free rounds at the bombchu alley if she ever comes! ..."

"... Do you think the hero will come here again? ..."

That made Joan stop and glance back for a moment. Hero? What were they on about?

"I wonder what...?" Joan stopped talking as she remembered Navi wasn't with her anymore. Joan was just so use to her presence. Sighing, Joan stuffed her hands in her pockets and kicked a stone as she went through the less populated alleys. She really didn't want to see anyone before the Princess.

The guards of the castle were still the worst guards in history. Something Joan couldn't help but note as she passed by two going by a statue. Honestly, Joan could just stand on the statue and strike a pose and they wouldn't notice! But Joan was hardly complaining, and eased her way to the courtyard. The young Zelda stood by the flowers, and seemed to be admiring them. Strange. Joan would have thought she'd catch Zelda looking in through the window. She did come here to warn Zelda. Right? That's why Irina told her to come here. At least that's what Joan thought.

Joan cleared her throat nervously and the Princess of Hyrule looked up from the flowers. Had Joan paid attention she would have noticed the Princess's eyes light up.

"Princess Zelda, I know this is going to sound weird, but I-"

Joan was cut off guard when Zelda suddenly ran up to her and hugged her.

"Joan! I'm glad to see you again!"

Joan was completely stunned and looked at Zelda like she had grown five extra heads.

"You... You remember me?"

"Of course." Zelda looked completely happy but at the same time understanding of Joan's confusion.

"But... I thought that..." Joan tried to get the words out but she still couldn't believe what was happening.

"That no one would remember?"

"Well... Yeah."

"Sit, down by the water with me. I'll explain everything." Joan nodded dumbly and followed Zelda to the tiny moat of the courtyard and sat down with her next to the water.

"Now first of all, not everyone knows every single detail." Zelda began. "By that I mean that depending on what roll or influence they played in the events that happened, the more they remember."

"I see..." Joan murmured. "So is there a way to tell who remembers how much?"

"Well you, I, those who took the places of the Six Sages and Ganondorf would remember everything." Zelda explained. "After us, there are those that won't remember everything, but will remember some details but mostly if it involves interacting with you. Everyone else just remembers how bad things were when Ganondorf took over."

"Alright. So, does that mean that they know that I...?"

"Yes. No matter who they are, everyone knows you as the Hero of Time!" Zelda confirmed.

"I... I never expected this." Joan said as all of it sank in. "I thought that coming here would mean that no one would know a thing about what happened. Including you and the sages!"

"I know. I must admit that this was an... Unexepected turn of events." confessed Zelda. "But I don't think we can call it a negative one."

Joan couldn't believe what she was hearing. Thinking back to the talk in town, she really should have realised this sooner! It seemed pretty obvious now that Joan thought about it all, but she supposed as long as she knew it now instead of later that was better then nothing. But there were still questions in Joan's mind.

"So, how exactly did this happen? Did everyone just gain the memories of what had, er... was going to happen?"

"Something like that. I'm not sure how exactly, but after we first met everyone gained those memories and you just vanished. If I had to guess, you came here from a timeline where Ganondorf succeeded but was defeated by you."

"Okay, but so then what happened to Ganondorf here then?" A smile began to twitch on Zelda's face and Joan felt it was going to be rather humorous.

"Well, sometime after Ganondorf left the castle everyone got their memories. Including Ganondorf. So from what we have been able to find out, he went to track you down and kill you while you were still a helpless child compared to him. However the royal soldiers were ready to apprehend him before he could come to your home forest so he retreated back to the desert and managed to loose them. However he didn't realise that the Gerudos had kept memories as well and Nabooru already had a revolt ready for him and prepared to hand him to the guards. As of now he's still on the run, but we're certain he'll be captured. After all, everyone knows Ganondorf's deeds and he has no one to turn to. When he is caught, he'll be given to the sages to decide his punishment."

Joan's low spirits were a little bit lifted from hearing this. To know that the man who had for a time been king had to go on the run gave a small satisfaction to Joan.

"But, doesn't he have followers?"

"Yes, but the Gerudo have already imprisoned those among them that were followers."

"And his mothers?"

"They've fled as well." Zelda answered. "I suppose they didn't want to take a risk of going against you again."

"What about the original Six Sages?"

"They're alive and well."

"Hmm... So what happens now?"

"We wait for Ganondorf to be captured. You might need to lay low for a short time until he is." Joan thought this over before she replied.

"No... No, I don't plan to. If I do that, then that's a small victory from him and I ain't giving him that. I'll go back to Kokiri, sure. But I'm not going to confine myself there."

"... Somehow, I expected an answer like that from you, Joan. Just try to be careful at least?"

"I'll try but you how my luck can be." Joan pointed out with little humour in her tone.

"That is true." Zelda agreed. Joan noticed that she kept looking around Joan's shoulder and began to prepare herself for the question that was bound to come up. "Joan, where's Navi?" Joan's stomach clenched and she felt a lump in her throat that would not go away even when she swallowed.

"Navi... Navi..." Joan almost didn't realise that her voice was starting to tremble. Joan wasn't looking at Zelda. Had she, Joan would have seen by the look on her face that Zelda had a strong idea of what may have happened.

"Joan... You don't have to talk now if you're not comfortable with it."

"Maybe later." Joan mumbled before she quickly changed the subject. She wasn't sure when she would be able to talk about Navi. Maybe with Saria? "So uh... I'm guessing I should probably go now..."

"No, you can stay." Zelda told her. "In fact, I wanted us to go to Lake Hylia so we could have a picnic. It isn't much I know, but-"

"No, a picnic sounds good." Joan said slowly. "I am kinda hungry, and I just want to relax after everything that's happened."

"And you deserve it." Zelda stood up and Joan followed suit as she brushed some grass off her skirt. "And maybe we could have a friendly horse race as well."

"Yeah, that could be fun..."

"Princess Zelda." Both girls looked to the tunnel leading outside the courtyard and saw Impa standing there. While she had her usual stern look it wasn't as strong as it usually was.

"Impa, would it be alright to take Joan on that picnic trip now?" Zelda asked the Sheikah.

"You'll have to tell your father while the horses are being fetched, but there should be no difficulty in convincing him." Zelda nodded and after giving Joan a happy smile she moved as quickly as she could in her dress, leaving Joan alone with Impa. The Hylian girl didn't feel as uncomfortable with Impa like she did when they first met, but she felt it wise to always be on her good side.

"You have done a good job, and I thank you for protecting the Princess." Impa told Joan. Joan nodded back.

"Thanks, but I don't really need any thanks. Ganondorf was stopped and Hyrule was saved."

"You still deserve it none the less. I'm sure the Princess has told you of Ganondorf's current situation."

"Yeah. He's currently on the run with no one to turn to."

"That would be correct." There was a moment of silence that for Joan felt uneasy.

"I know that you have recently lost a friend." Joan looked a bit surprised. Did being a Sheikah give a her a sixth sense to detect these things? Or had Impa been in the tunnel the entire time Joan and Zelda had been talking? "I understand it hurts, and I know it will never go away. But know this. You were chosen by the Triforce of Courage. You do have the strength to get past this and still remember great memories of your times together."

"... I'll try." Joan murmured though she avoided eye contact. Impa did make a good point, and her words did give some comfort. Impa gave a nod.

"I'll be getting the horses. You'll have a to ride a separate horse."

"That's okay."

"You'll have to wait here so the guards won't find you. I'll be sending someone to collect you." After that, Impa left. Leaving Joan completely alone in the courtyard. Joan shuffled her feet a bit awkwardly and went to sit by the water. There were things she would have to think over. She felt it was only right to visit everyone she had met and become friends with. Joan also wondered if Epona would remember her. Hopefully she would. Would she ever get over Navi? The pain would probably fade and ease eventually. She may cry now and then but that would lessen to a sad feeling. But no. Joan would never truly get over the loss of Navi. When she had believed herself to be Kokiri and she had no fairy, she was so happy to meet Navi. It made her feel like a true Kokiri. Even when it turned out she was Hylian, Navi was still important to her.

The sound of hooves bought Joan's attention and turning around she was met with a something that would shock her.

Holding a reins of a white horse small enough for a child to ride was Sheik. The real Sheik. With everything else going on, she had almost forgotten that Sheik was alive at this point and this time wasn't going to die. She had a feeling Impa would make sure of that.

"Sheik..." Joan walked up to the quiet boy. "It's... It's good to see you again."

"Same here." he murmured. "After everything that happened, I wasn't sure if we would ever meet again. Especially after the events at the well with Impa and the monster of the Shadow Temple."

"I'm sorry. I figured... If I had known maybe I could have..."

"I don't think there could have anything you could have done to change anything. And even if you could have it probably would have been best not to. Time can be a sensitive thing sometimes."

"I guess." Joan murmured. She cleared her throat before asking, "So are you joining Impa, Zelda and I for that picnic?" Sheik gave a small smile and offered his hand out to Joan.

"We did promise to meet again, right? Why waste this opportunity? Joan gave a tiny smile and accepted Sheik's hand.

"We did, didn't we?"

"Well let's get going. Impa and Zelda are waiting for us." Sheik nodded his head to a light brown cloak resting across the horse's saddle. "There's a cloak there in case you want to wear it going through town." After a murmur of thanks from Joan, the pair began to walk with the horse by their side.

"So how do you plan to deal with people wanting to thank and greet you? You are the hero after all."

"Hm... I'll probably just try to deal with what comes. I mean, it's not like their gonna stalk me, worship me and stuff."

"Maybe most of them, but there are some you can't be sure of."

"Well right now I just want to enjoy the picnic, go home and visit friends I've made starting tomorrow."

As they continued their conversation, Joan felt a little more at ease with the world. She would still question how it was everyone was able to remember the events of the timeline that Joan would call the Adult Timeline. But frankly, she wasn't sure if she really wanted to know the answers. The people were happy and there was peace. What neither children would ever know would be the two spirits looking on them in the courtyard.

"Glad I was able to convince you to do this for me." Irina gave a smile to her friend who gave a smile to her in return.

"I'm glad to have been of help. I can't deny that I was hesitant, but I can see your reason for wanting people to remember."

"It didn't seem fair that after all she has done that no one would ever know." Irina said with a knowing smile. "And it's given her a happy ending, Hylia. A bit bitter sweet, but happy. So we should be happy for them."

"And I am."

Meanwhile, Joan and Sheik had met up with Impa and Zelda and after mounting their horses, began their trip to Lake Hylia. Sensing the care free feeling from everyone, Joan almost felt it radiating onto herself. It felt strange to be traveling somewhere with no work to do except to enjoy herself without worrying about having to finish a job. True, Ganondorf was still on the run, and being a ten year old girl instead of a stronger seventeen year old would mean she would have a higher chance of dying unless Joan was able to find something to help her.

But today, she would just enjoy the now.

* * *

**And thus we reach the conclusion. I hope this chapter was enjoyable. I'm also considering doing the Majora's Mask sequel but either way I hope the ending was satisfying.**


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